Hunted
by yoyoente
Summary: James discovered Bella before she ever moved to Forks. After killing Renee and Phil, James decides Bella will be his new mouse in his sick game. How will his plan to terrify her play out now that Bella is in Forks and indifferent to life? UP FOR ADOPTION!
1. Death

**A/N:** This is kinda short, but it's basically the introductory chapter. :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

_**Hunted**_

**Chapter One: Death**

Two forms emerged from the shadows of park. The sun had finally set and darkness was spreading throughout the city. The red-headed beauty pouted slightly.

"Why did we have to come here? It's no fun having to hide all day."

Brown-haired and handsome, James turned to her, exacerbated. "I told you Victoria, I have a good feeling about here. You know about my feelings." He smiled at her, laughing on the inside as she swooned.

Both hunters took deep breaths of air, intent on finding what they longed for most. James immediately set off in the directions of the city outskirts, his eyes pitch black. Victoria trailed behind, happy to be anywhere he was.

They arrived outside a house. It was peaceful really, but that wasn't going to last very long. He smiled in anticipation. A man and woman were talking in the first-floor kitchen, something about moving. He didn't care about the ones downstairs, he was intent on the scent wafting down from the second story window. He breathed in deeply, cherishing the heavenly aroma as he set his plan. If nothing else, James was a true hunter.

The girl upstairs was sitting doing homework on her bed. She was so intent on her work that she started when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up, quite shocked.

"Honey, dinners done. I'm sorry I scared you, I called but you didn't answer." Bella's mother smiled at her.

"'Kay mom, I'll be down right after I finish this question. I don't want to lose my train of thought."

Renee headed back down the stairs and slipped, only to catch herself on the edge of the counter. A dishrag had fallen on the floor and she'd so deftly stepped on it. She shook her, laughing silently, as she wondered whether her daughter was becoming more like her or if it was really the other way around.

A loud crashing of a window made her whip around. Two people stood in the now ruined bay windows. Reaching quickly for the phone, Renee's breath caught in her throat when a cold hand wrapped itself around her torso, trapping her arms to her sides while another hand wrapped itself over her mouth.

She had taken self defense and refused to be held hostage without a fight, so using all the gumph she could muster, Renee bit down on the hand only to stop instantly. It felt like biting concrete. She wondered momentarily whether the intruder was wearing special gloves.

Renee and Phil were held, silently, as a thump came from upstairs. Out of the corner of her eye, Renee could see that the intruders – both very beautiful – were staring intently at the stairs, as if they were here specifically for Bella. Her mind screamed at the idea as she struggled with all the her strength against the one holding her.

The woman holding Phil – how she managed to keep him subdued Renee would never know – cackled. She seemed to whisper something high and fast, too fast for Renee to understand, but she soon knew what the woman wanted. Bending his head back and leaning forward, in one fluid motion, the strange woman bit into Renee's husband's neck. His face contorted in shock and pain but he didn't seem able to make a noise. Renee screamed against her captor's hand, absolutely horrified as she saw Phil's lifeless body drop to the floor.

Bella came sliding down the stairs – literally. She looked at the situation with disgust on her face. Her eyes widened only slightly before turning to dash to the phone. James could hear her heart racing but her blood revealed no fear. What an interesting human. He spoke at vampire speed for Victoria to grab the girl but just hold her. He wanted her good and terrified before he drank her; her blood needed to taste the best it could.

Only making it about half a step, Bella was quickly whipped around by Victoria to reveal a rather disgruntled expression. James almost laughed, did nothing phase this human? If nothing else, the death of her mother should.

Renee managed to say one thing before James had his mouth on her neck. "Bella…I'm sorry." Her limp body soon hit the ground.

Bella stood with tears running down her face, but she still seemed in check of her emotions. James thought quickly, deciding this game of seek and find had ended too quickly with nothing being what he expected. He turned to Victoria, speaking too quickly for Bella to understand, "we're leaving."

"Without her." He added when Victoria made to drag the human girl with them. The red-haired beauty looked momentarily confused before letting Bella go and streaking out the window. James followed after a quick look over his shoulder showed Bella crumpled on the ground crying over her mother's dead body.

He smiled to himself. He was going to enjoy this game.


	2. Crazy

**A/N:** For any that have been wondering: Bella had witnessed a very traumatic thing, if she seems a little out of character, that's why. :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Two: Crazy **

Bella awoke to moonlight streaming across her face, unsure of the cause. She wasn't sure how long she had spent in this cramped, empty cell, but she knew it had to be more than a week.

The padding she was lying on made for an interesting effect. When in deep thought, she could sit with her back against the wall and bang here head, feeling no pain. It was all precautionary against her injuring herself – Bella understood why they'd think she would – but that didn't change the fact that she wouldn't.

Bella wasn't sure why she had reacted they she did to the horrifying situation. A small voice in the back of her head had told her to remain calm throughout the ordeal – to be unafraid – and, given that her instincts were usually spot-on, she had obeyed. The fact that she had survived, possibly due to her instincts, did not lessen the fact that Bella felt at least partly to blame for her mother's death. Nothing could change that.

After the intruders left, Bella could do nothing more than cry. By the time she as found by the neighbors, she was in hysterics. Bella could not form any other words besides "He bit her," over and over again. She was too shocked at what had taken place to process that the police needed information. When they had finally realized she would not be of any help to them and she was possibly a danger to herself, she was brought here.

After two straight days of crying, Bella finally calmed herself into a restless sleep. The doctors believed she would be able to talk about what had happened after her hysterics had stopped, but they were wrong. She refused to speak to anyone and after three failed attempts at trying to get her to eat, they finally resorted to intravenous feeding.

Bella did wonder every once in a while whether she was going to remain in this padded cell for a long period of time, but mostly her thoughts were on that night. Like a movie on loop, the events of that night played in her mind.

James sat outside the sanitarium thinking to himself. It was ironic that the last time he had wanted a human this much, she had also been in an institution. The previous girl's blood had had a stronger calling on him, but that did not change the fact that he had not gotten that girl's blood or how sweet this girl's blood smelt. He just needed to figure out the best way to torture her mentally, leading her to complete terror.

Scaling the wall to look into her single window, James wondered how long this game would last. He was slightly startled when he looked through the window at the human girl. The moonlight was lighting her for his better inspection and to his surprise, she was beautiful. It was strange; this girl, no, _Bella_ did not have the features that were commonly associated with beauty, but she was definitely beautiful.

Bella had a maturity that could be seen even in her sleep. Her brown hair shimmered slightly auburn in the moonlight, even in its current unkempt state, it was extraordinary. James shook his head to clear it; this was definitely not the time or person to be thinking about in that way. As he laughed quietly to himself, Bella's eyes fluttered open.

James froze, wondering if he had been the one to awaken her. He crept closer to the window, using this time to test how easy his game would be. Lightly scraping his fingers down the window caused a wonderful screeching noise. Bella looked up, directly into his blood red eyes. Her reaction puzzled him. She laughed; full blown laughter.

This was the strangest human he had ever come across. Usually he got a kind of idea of what his victim's reactions or next move would be, but this girl gave him nothing. It only made the game that much more interesting.

Bella heard a scraping noise on the window. It didn't make much sense that there would be something up there, considering it was a good fifteen or twenty feet off the ground, but she looked up anyway. What she was made her question her sanity. There, presumably hanging onto the side of the building, was the man who had killed her mother, the only difference was that his eyes were red rather than black.

She laughed. Just when she had been wondering how long she would be in this loony bin she was hallucinating. It really was comedic, because if she wasn't actually crazy then the murderer wasn't human and was after her as well. She had already guess that they weren't human, considering they seemed to drink her mother's and Phil's blood, but that hadn't ruled out the possibility that she had actually gone crazy from the sight of her mother's death and hallucinated the way they had died as well. That thought made her laugh even harder.

It took quite some time for her hysterical laughter to die down. When it finally did she curled back up in the corner, feeling guilty for being so amused, and fell asleep.

The next morning – or afternoon, Bella didn't have much to go on for time – she awoke to her door being opened. When she looked up at the two people standing in the doorway she recognized both. One was the doctor that she had refused to talk to; the other was her father, Charlie.

Bella stood on shaky feet, watching the two men apprehensively. She was unsure whether Charlie was there to get her, or commit her permanently. Her unspoken question was answered by her father striding over to her, grabbing her hand, and saying, "let's get you out of here."

She nodded and followed willingly. The doctor led them back to his office and sat them down to talk. Bella didn't have to do any talking, in fact, the doctor acted as if she wasn't even there. He was talking to her father about how he believed she was in shock, and the possibility that she would try, in some way, to injure herself. Charlie refused to believe she would resort to suicide or self-mutilation, no matter what she had live through. As he said, she was a Swan, and Swans were tough enough to get over anything.

Charlie drove them, in a rental, to the airport. He said that Renee's house was still a crime scene, therefore, she couldn't get anything from there. She replied that it didn't matter, she would just buy new clothes; Bella didn't want _anything_ from that house.

Bella was taken from the hot, brown city of Phoenix to a small town in Washington State: Forks. She had never liked the town, but at this point in her life she was indifferent – to everything.

James watched from the shadows as Bella's father led her to the car. She seemed calm, but distant. She didn't have the determined edge she had had the first night he found her. He wondered if that change was caused by the influence of the nuthouse or his own.

Victoria was off hunting on her own. She understood that when James got into his game, he didn't want any distractions, and that included her. She trusted that he would find her when he wanted her, not that he ever truly did, she was just useful in more than one way.

Following them to the airport, in his stolen car, James discovered Bella and her father's destination: Washington State. He wondered briefly if that was where Bella's father lived, before setting off in that direction. James couldn't use an airplane; he didn't have the right paperwork with him and besides, his red eyes would be very intimidating to anyone, so he drove.

**A/N:** Yay! Bella's in Forks. Let the real story begin! Mwahaha!


	3. Home

**A/N:** So I got tired of the stupid extra spaces being ignored when I uploaded my file onto the website, so gaps between places or times are now seperated by -x-. Yay.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Three: Home **

The trip to Washington was rather eventless, except for the fact that Charlie had been so skittish on the plane that it had almost been amusing. Only almost though. Bella knew she shouldn't completely void herself of emotion, but it was difficult when to pick and choose which emotions to feel, so she had given up on caring what happened in her life. She knew she was going to die, the eyes she had seen the night before had proven that, either that or she was going crazy and would end up locked in a loony bin somewhere, which the eyes she had seen could also mean.

Her instincts had told her that the man was not human, not normal – if he was even real, which at this point she wasn't too sure about. His actions had confirmed her beliefs and even now that she was 3 states away, she didn't believe she was free from his pursuit. This belief, as well as all those bottled up emotions about her mother's death she banned herself from feeling, for the sake of Charlie and _his_ sanity, had caused an indifferent attitude in Bella that was hard to budge. She still felt emotions, but they were numbed – it made dealing with certain things…manageable, such as her mother's death.

The ride from the mini airport in Port Angeles was a rather quiet affair. Charlie's friend Harry had kindly came to pick them up from the airport. Bella vaguely remembered Harry from her childhood and her father's fishing obsession, but that didn't make for much conversation.

She could tell the friend was uncomfortable and unsure of what to say to a young woman who had recently witnessed the murder of her mother and stepfather, and Charlie had never been much of a talker. Bella, again with the indifferent attitude, didn't care that they didn't know what to say to her, she just enjoyed – in her own way – the silent car journey.

Upon their arrival at Charlie's home, Bella left the vehicle without a word and swiftly opened the front door with the key that hid under the eve – ironic that the town's Chief of Police was so lax on his own home's security.

Knowing Charlie was never one for major change, Bella strode up the stairs, tripping only once, to where her room had been since her birth. She collapsed onto the unmade bed and immediately fell into an uncomfortable and restless sleep.

-x-

Charlie had said nothing about her immediately starting classes, so Bella made no rush to get ready for the day when she awoke the next morning – she wasn't even sure what day it was. Looking around her old room, she realized nothing had changed since her last stay there except the addition of an old computer. It had obviously been bought for the following month.

Bella had already been planning to move north to be with her father, the events that had taken place a week prior had only made the move sooner. She wanted to give her mother time to be with the new love in her life and that required Renee traveling. It wasn't that Bella didn't enjoy the time alone in her old house; it was that her mother had always been torn between feeling guilty for leaving because Bella was alone and feeling guilty and lonely when she didn't leave with her husband.

Her heart squeezed at the thought of her impulsive mother, taking this as a cue to find a distraction, Bella headed downstairs for food she didn't really want, but knew she needed.

Surprisingly, Charlie was sitting in front of the TV. It must have been late in the morning, judging by the light coming through the window – not that you could usually tell with the constant cloud cover over Forks – but Charlie was still at home, rather than being at work. Bella presumed he was there in case she needed him, although that thought didn't seem very realistic for either of them. Neither were very good with the whole emotion thing – neither with the expressing or the comforting.

After a quick and only-what-was-necessary breakfast, Bella questioned her father on school and living supplies. He seemed rather taken aback at her willingness to jump back into normal life, but she just wanted to get moving with something in her life. Sitting still, doing nothing did not help ward off the emotions and thoughts that threatened to become overbearing.

Charlie promised she could start school on Monday – the day after the next – and asked if she could wait till the next day for shopping. He had seemed to forget momentarily that the only clothes she had with her was the one outfit they had managed to grab in the airport before their flight had left Phoenix.

Agreeing readily to wait another day before having to shop, Bella soon trudged back up the stairs to crawl back into bed. She wasn't exactly tired, but not sleeping well mixed with the internal battle that was constantly waging in her head had caused Bella to only wish for unconsciousness to overcome her.


	4. Arrival

**A/N:** Yay...okay, so I swear Bella will meet the Cullens in the next chapter...or the one after that, but soon! Promise. :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Four: Arrival**

James only knew where to go because he had been fortunate and smart enough to overhear Bella's father telling her that she would love Forks. By the expression on her face, she hadn't believed him.

Driving until about Oregon, James decided the forest cover was thick enough that he could run from there. Running was faster than driving and there was not as much of a chance of having to deal with humans, such as police officers trying to pull him over for exceeding three times the speed limit.

It only took him until the early morning hours of Saturday to reach his destination. Although she hadn't left much of a trail – Bella must have not gone anywhere since her arrival – James discovered her house in the small town with ease.

Scaling the side of the house, James found her window. There she was, asleep on her bed, which was bare. He found the condition odd for a moment until he realized that she had arrived unexpected and hadn't brought anything with her. Smiling at the fact that her current living conditions would probably help him in his game, James slid the window open a crack.

The foul contraption squealed like a piglet. James froze, fearing he had woken his prey. When he was satisfied that neither her nor her father had been aroused, James dropped, silently, back to the ground.

It took a minute of pondering before he headed toward Charlie Swan's shed in search of oil, or some other source of lubricant. Finding what he needed, James headed back toward the human waiting for his tormenting.

Lazily crawling back up the wall, James soon cursed himself for not being more observant. As soon as he had had a view of her bedroom, he had seen Bella sitting up on her bed, looking towards the window. He had doubts whether she had actually seen him, not that it mattered very much, but mystery added to terror.

James, lightning fast, worked his way onto the roof when he heard her feet hit the ground. Keeping perfectly still, he only allowed his eyes to hang over the side, in order to observe the girl's actions.

After reaching the window, Bella threw it open with one quick motion. It screamed its protest but moved smoothly. She just stood by the window for a few minutes, looking out across her yard and towards the woods.

James almost fell off the roof when she cricked her head to the side to look directly up into her eyes. _How does she _do_ that?! _It was like the last time he had been observing her, almost as if she knew exactly where he was when no human could have possibly known.

When her eyes were locked with his, Bella smiled. That's right, again she stumped James by reaction, she had _smiled_. He knew his eyes must be giving off a faint red glow, which should have been terrifying to any mortal human, but this girl seemed afraid of nothing. After her smile and lingering look, Bella popped her head back into the house and closed the window.

James sat, frozen, on his perch, unsure whether to leave now and come back later, or just wait until she had fallen asleep again. His instinct told him to come back the next evening, but he couldn't resist looking back through her window at her sleeping form before leaving.

Before making his way somewhere else, James greased the window in order to make his entry the next night as quiet and quick as possible. He knew he needed to hunt now, but wasn't sure whether he could actually leave. Being around her even this much had led to the familiar burning in the back of his throat, signifying his thirst.

Deciding to head into the mountains in hopes of finding a hiker or camper, James set off.

-x-

Bella had once again dreamed of her mother's death. It was a familiar nightmare that she had finally stopped waking up screaming from. This night, however, the screech her mother sounded seemed so close, as if Renee was in Bella's room, screaming for her.

Bella awoke, lying perfectly still. She felt like someone was watching her, possibly in her room, but she didn't want to alert them to the fact she was awake. It didn't make any real sense that someone would be there, she had locked her room door before falling asleep for the night, but that logic didn't shake the feeling.

After several minutes of complete silence – minus the snoring of Charlie – Bella finally stirred. Sitting up in bed and looking towards the window, she noticed it was slightly ajar. Knowing for sure that is was not her that had opened it, Bella presumed her possibly-imagined stalker had found her.

Feeling unafraid, Bella walked to the window and threw it open. She could swear she had heard a slight clattering over the screeching of the window – now she knew what she had mistaken for her mother's shriek. Listening hard, Bella looked out over her yard, in hopes of catching something, anything, to confirm her suspicions.

It felt like hours she stood there, just staring out her window. It wasn't until she noticed that the hair on the back of her neck was standing up that she thought to look that direction. There he was, crouching on her roof with only the top of his head hanging over the edge. His eyes met hers and he looked beyond shocked, probably not realizing she would think to look towards his hiding spot.

Bella smiled at his surprise, which seemed to shock him further. She knew he was either there to kill her or was only a figment of her imagination, so he put no fear in her. He would either eventually disappear or would end her guilt and pain. With that comforting thought, Bella pulled herself back into her room, shutting the window, and went back to bed. She fell asleep again, but slept dreamlessly.


	5. Possessive

**A/N:** I'm sorry, but this chapter is kind of just a transition chapter and so it was really awkward and difficult to write, so if it seems kind of bizzare to read (especially the last part) I'm sorry! puppy dog eyes I promise I'll do better next time! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Five: Possessive**

The first full day in Forks, Bella had only come out of her room to eat a small breakfast and then a small dinner. The next day, as she trudged down the stairs, she noticed something was different: she was alone.

Charlie had apparently thought his being there was not doing Bella much good, and seeing as his job was both his wife and children to him, he had headed in to work. Vaguely wondering how she was supposed to go shopping all by herself, without a car, Bella scrounged the kitchen for anything edible. Out of the three things that were edible – beer, eggs, and bacon – she decided to go with the eggs.

It wasn't until she sat at the table to eat her lone egg that she noticed a note…and a set of keys. Curious, she picked up the note that, by the handwriting, was from Charlie.

_Hey Bella,_

_I didn't think me hanging around the house was any better than me going to work, so I opted for the latter. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up but something outside might just cheer you up. _

_Yesterday while you were in your room I talked to my old friend Billy Black and was able to buy his truck from him. It's not new, but it's sturdy and runs alright – we both know that's good for you – so I figured you could use it to go out and buy the things you need. I left some money with the note and I hope it's enough. See you tonight._

_Love ya, Dad_

Bella thought it was rather sweet for her father to be so thoughtful, but was reluctant to look outside the window at what she presumed would be a monster of a vehicle.

Steeling herself, Bella walked over to look at her new metal box but stopped short in shock. It was huge, faded red, and old, but it had a certain charm to it. The thing would probably _eat_ any car it collided with, but that was a good thing for her and her luck.

Now excited to use her new vehicle, Bella quickly threw her hair up, put on what clothes she had, grabbed what she needed, and headed out the door. She figured clothes shopping in Port Angeles would be fine and on her way back she'd stop at the grocery store for some decent food.

Her truck sounded like the monster it was – loud and threatening – but seemed to top out on speed at about 60 mph. Happy to stay within the speed restrictions of both the road and her truck, Bella drove northeast.

-x-

Bella felt satisfied with her purchases on her way home. She had remembered to get both things for home and things for school. By buying everything new, it was almost like she was getting to start over as a new person. She could choose to be colorful, dark, artistic, anything she found intriguing. It was all up to what she wanted; who she decided the new Bella should be.

A secret stop was made to the hardware store before her last stop at the grocery store. After starting and finishing her project involving the tall tree outside her bedroom window and then setting up steaks to marinate in the fridge, Bella headed upstairs to put the new Bella's room together.

-x-

James watched from the tree line as Bella arrived back home from shopping. She looked slightly less lifeless than she had the previous two times he had observed her. He was hoping she would get back to feeling normal so she would feel the full extent of his mental torture scheme, in turn producing some of the most delicious blood he could imagine tasting.

While hunting, James had crossed a scent trail of more than one of his kind. He now knew there was a coven of vampires in the area and the need to make sure they understood without a doubt that this human was his, without having to actually confront them, was strong. Plans had already formed in his head.

Bella's actions still managed to amaze James as he watched her build a device that would most likely have her spending a lot of time outside, exposed, even when she knew he was after her.

It wasn't a very long wait before her father arrived home and then for Bella to go to bed. As soon as he was sure all members of the Swan's residence were asleep, James silently slid open Bella's window and crawled inside.

After a lingering glance at her sleeping form, James made his way to Bella's closet and set of drawers.

Feeling slightly obsessive, James proceeded to coat all of her new clothes with his scent. This would be a sign to any other vampire that she was his.

Smiling to himself when his job was finished, James sat down to watch his target sleep. He enjoyed her peaceful face, knowing he would soon be causing her unforeseeable amounts of terror.

James chuckled quietly to himself as he made his way back towards her bed and the window. Turning to look back at her one more time, James brushed back a piece of hair that had fallen across her face before he could even think about what he was doing. Shocked and confused by his impulsive action, James quickly made his way out the window.

As he was sliding it shut, James could almost swear he had heard a soft farewell coming from Bella.


	6. School

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Six: School**

Bella awoke Monday morning to her brand new alarm clock. Stifling the urge to throw it out the window, she gently turned off the annoying ringing. Bella wasn't particularly excited to be going to school, but anything that could successfully distract her from the thoughts that were constantly haunting her was welcome, so in her mind it was, _school-onward_!

While putting on her new and freshly laundered clothes, Bella noticed a faint sweet smell coming from them. Although she hadn't noticed it the previous night, she just assumed it was Charlie's fabric softener. Bella shrugged off the slight feeling that there was something strange and possibly dangerous about the scent.

Charlie had already left by the time she was clean, clothed and downstairs. He always went to work early, even though the most crime Forks usually had was a rebellious teenage deciding that vandalizing public property would be a good way to vent his/her anger.

Not wanting to stick around in the empty house after eating her miniscule breakfast, Bella headed to school early. The school may not be large, but, she reasoned with herself, if she was early on her first day she might be able to walk around and make sure she wouldn't have to keep her nose in a map the entire day.

Her truck roared to life as Bella glared at the classic mist that seemed to just be hanging in the air. She had never liked the fact that Forks made her feel like a sponge that was never properly wrung out and that did not change with her sudden move there.

Parking in front of a building labeled "Administration", Bella got out of her truck to figure out exactly what she was supposed to do. She wasn't quite sure whether her fellow classmates and the staff would shun her for being an outsider, or if people would be overly friendly.

Her question was quickly answered when she spoke her name to the receptionist. The woman's eyes lit up with interest before turning soft; it was painfully obvious that the circumstances that caused Bella to move here had been broadcasted throughout the town to the ears of all those interested.

After receiving her schedule, a map, and a special neon-colored sheet devised to prevent her from skipping classes her very first day of school, Bella drove her truck around to the other side of the school where the student parking was.

Using the twenty or so minutes that were left before classes began, Bella ran through her schedule and walked to path to her different classes. There were hardly any students there at the time, so the number of stares she received was down to a minimum. Even with an indifferent attitude, Bella didn't enjoy being the center of attention. She knew by the amount of attention she was already getting that it was going to be a long and head-achey kind of day.

Lost in her own thoughts, Bella only noticed that the campus had become much more populated when the warning bell went off. Hurrying off to her first class, English, Bella cursed herself for being caught off guard like that.

If her first class was a sign for how the rest would go, it did not bode well. All the books listed on the reading list she had already read – multiple times – and she also seemed to have managed to pick up an overly helpful male at the end of class.

Eric, a boy suffering from a mild case of acne and a heavy case of overfriendliness, seemed a little too eager for his own good. Bella had never really had any special interest in the males in her classes, just as they had no special interest in her, and that fact had not changed since her move to Forks.

Bella was careful to be diplomatically polite and answer questions, but she did not give any unnecessary details and tended to stick to one or two word answers. Undeterred, Eric continued to attack her with a barrage of questions until they reached her classroom building.

Cutting him off mid-question, Bella thanked Eric for his help and swiftly stepped into the classroom.

Bella had never really felt a connection to anyone her age, or anyone at all for that matter. It sometimes seemed like she just wasn't even on the same wavelength as some people. Bella was forcefully reminded of this fact when, in her third period class of trigonometry, – a subject she loathed – a chatty, energetic girl whose name had escaped Bella's mind as soon as the girl had said it, had commandeered herself to fill Bella in on all the juicy gossip and relationship issues she knew of.

Knowing the mouth with a body attached would not notice, Bella tuned her out as they were walking towards lunch. Bella's appetite had still yet to return since her mother's death, but for the sake of Charlie, she consistently ate, even if it was in small portions.

As Bella opened the door to enter the cafeteria, a strong gust of wind surged past her, throwing napkins on the floor. Five heads shot up, each belonging to an instantly tense and wary person. The Cullens watched the doors with narrowed eyes; they looked past Bella, ignoring her presence altogether, in search of the offender.

Four sets of eyes flashed to the black-haired pixie before returning to the door.

"You didn't _see_ anything Alice?" The bronze-haired god asked.

Alice shook her head, slightly frantic at her "blindness" in the situation. It was odd, they all understood that. Though they could not locate any of their kind in the crowd of teenagers, the scent still remained.

Accepting the possibility that another vampire had simply come across their scents and was curious as to what exactly they were doing in a high school, the Cullens went back to acting bored, but in reality stayed on alert.

-x-

After getting food, Bella had been stuck between Jessica, who kept up the constant stream of gossip, and Eric, who decided to go with constant questions. Completely bored and out of her element, Bella turned more towards Jessica, the less interactive choice, and let her eyes wander around the cafeteria.

There wasn't much of a difference between this school and her previous school in Phoenix, she mused, well, except for the size…and the fact that Bella was apparently an interesting creature in this school. That last bit of change was not an improvement in Bella's mind. More than ever before in her life, Bella wished to just blend in with the background.

Her eyes finally fell on the Cullens, the most unusual yet most ignored group of people. They were easily the five most beautiful people she had ever seen. The fact that three people of said group were males did nothing to change her mental use of the word 'beautiful', because, well, they were.

Jessica must have been trying to ask Bella a question because she noticed that Bella's attention was elsewhere. Following her gave, Jessica grunted.

"The Cullens," she introduced. "They're all extremely attractive but have attitudes that rival their looks. They don't like to associate with others." She sounded slightly bitter to Bella and it was not long before she understood the reason why. "They're all _together_, you know. They live as Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's adoptive children under the same roof but Emmett Cullen," she pointed each god or goddess out as she mentioned them, "and Rosalie Hale are a couple. Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale are also together. Edward is the only one that's single, but apparently he doesn't date." _Yup, definitely bitter_. "I just think he's stuck up enough that he thinks none of the girls are good enough for him."

"Oh," was all Bella could manage without bursting out into hysterical laughter at the fact that Jessica was still so upset about being turned down. _He is attractive, but get over it_.

Bella was saved from having to hide her laughter by the sound of the bell. Waving goodbye to Jessica, she trudged to her next class: Biology.

After giving her neon sheet to the teacher, he waved in the vague direction of where Bella's seat should have been.

Turning around, she scanned the room for an empty seat. Making her way to the only empty seat, it wasn't until she had sat down and set her bag on the table that she noticed who she was sitting next to, the little piece of perfection named Edward Cullen.


	7. Rejected

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Seven: Rejected**

Edward knew the new girl would have to sit next to him as soon as she walked through the door, seeing as the seat next to him was the only open one left in the room.

After speaking with the teacher, Bella took her seat next to Edward, he immediately stiffened. He was completely shocked, even more so than he had been at lunch. The girl was obviously human – her heartbeat told him so – yet she smelt strongly of vampire.

While pondering the possibility that this human girl actually knew a vampire, Edward didn't realize the venom that had began pooling inside his mouth, or the fact that he was slowly inching himself towards his tablemate. Finally conscious of his own involuntary actions, Edward realized the reason. Underneath the smell of vampire was the sweetest blood that Edward had ever come across, it was almost as if her blood was calling to the monster inside him.

Immediately cutting off his heavy breathing, Edward tried to focus on all the reasons that he could not kill the girl sitting next to him.

By the end of the period it was all he could do to not snatch her up with him and run for a more secluded spot to end her life and his monster's crooning.

Edward walked quickly to his car, breathing large lungfuls of fresh air. Without her scent around him, Edward was able to think a little more clearly and deny the squirming monster inside him. Unfortunately his perfect vampire brain wouldn't let him forget the way her blood had smelt.

Sitting in his car, Edward tried to think of ways to keep her alive and not expose his family. He had been thinking of leaving when his ego stepped in. He refused to believe that he, a vampire with at least 70 years of experience not drinking human blood, would be forced to leave his family to run away and hide from a simple human girl.

If he could get out of that period of Biology, surely he would be able to ignore her any time they happened to pass. Deciding that was the best solution he could think of without running away, Edward made his way to the Administration office just as the bell releasing the students from their final period sounded.

Although he did not enjoy using it, Edward was perfectly – and sometimes painfully – aware that everything about him appealed to humans. Being as sweet and dazzling as he could manage, Edward began the process of trying to convince the secretary to allow him to switch into a more challenging class during his Biology period, while trying to ignore the very inappropriate images involving himself that were forming in the woman's mind.

He was not progressing very well – at least in his battle for a new class, him in the secretary's fantasies was quite another thing – when another student opened the door, bringing with them a gust of wind. Edward stiffened, looking over his shoulder to see Isabella Swan, standing against the wall. He knew he was glaring at her, but it seemed almost like a personal attack that she was there, at the exact moment he was as well. Surprisingly she met his glare evenly with an indifferent expression, even her heartbeat told him she didn't care that he was looking at her that way.

Tearing his glare that was now faltering away from her, Edward turned back to the secretary and thanked her for trying. He turned stiffly and walked out of the room, taking more deep breaths. He knew then that he would either end of killing the girl or he would have to escape the boring little town of Forks, Washington. The new girl made up his mind for him when she came out of the office and walked right into him.

-x-

Jessica had told Bella that the Cullens were not friendly and did not like associating with others. She hadn't quite believed the extreme qualities of the comment, but when she turned in her seat during Biology, she noticed that Edward's black eyes had formed a glare that was directed toward her.

Bella shrugged off the feeling of indignation and figured he was angry with her, illogically, because he would have to actually interact with someone besides his family from now on. She simply turned back to the teacher, trying her best to ignore his presence altogether.

Ignoring him became difficult when her mind began to wander. Bella's thoughts turned to the man that was either stalking her, or was a figment of her imagination, and she couldn't help but notice the similarities Edward and that man. Both were deathly pale, gorgeous, and had rings under their eyes like they hadn't slept in years. The only real difference besides being different people was their eye color. Bella ignored the feeling that they were both part of the same nonhuman group, only to rethink that thought when the bell rang and she saw Edward stand and dart out the room faster than she thought was humanly possible.

Not really caring what he was if he was in fact not human, Bella let her mind focus on trying to keeping her body upright and out of other people's ways as she participated in her PE class.

Unexpectedly, Bella ran into Edward Cullen yet again when walked into the Administration office to return her neon-sheet. It appeared that Edward was arguing with the secretary, who was batting her eyes at him, on whether he could change his Biology period for something, anything, different. Guessing that the cause was her, Bella's thoughts were confirmed when another student walked in. Edward stiffened and focused another glare over his shoulder, in her direction. Bella looked steadily back, calling him a stupid stuck up prat in her mind.

Edward's glare seemed to falter slightly at Bella's indifferent expression; he quickly turned back towards the secretary, thanked her for her help and swiftly left the office. Bella envisioned her future Biology lessons that she thought would possibly be worse than even trigonometry as she stepped toward the secretary to give back the now signed sheet.

As soon as Bella stepped out of the office, she got an ominous feeling. Bella looked over her shoulder to see if something was coming her way, only to step right smack into Edward Cullen. He turned to her with a slightly determined expression on his face which immediately softened into a stunning smile. Bella was caught off guard by his reaction for a second before she registered he was speaking to her.

"Isabella Swan."

"Actually, it's Bella." Something flickered behind his inviting eyes: amusement.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get to introduce myself earlier, you caught me at a bad time." He smiled apologetically. "I'm Edward Cullen."

Bella smiled back slightly, trying to keep up her diplomatic façade. On the inside, she was quite irritated with Mr. Cullen, it appeared that he was using her as some sort of entertainment, although she didn't know why or what for.

Edward leaned toward her slightly, breathing into her face as he spoke again. "Would you like to go for a small walk with me? We could get to know each other a little better since we are going to be lab partners."

The feeling of intoxication caused by his breath immediately left Bella when she saw the same flicker of amusement pass through his eyes at his own words. Bella smiled as invitingly as she could before speaking. "No, thank you though."

With that, Bella side stepped him and walked to her truck, leaving Edward completely stunned. He had planned to take her for a walk into the forest, away from everyone else, and kill her quickly. Even with the monster rearing in him, Edward had wanted to make Bella as happy and comfortable as possible in her last moments.

As he stood rooted to the same spot, gaping at where Bella had stood Edward realized three things: he could not read Bella's mind, something that had never happened to him; he had given into the monster and almost killed an innocent girl, only to be thwarted, by that same girl; and the most shocking of all, that Bella had turned him down when he had been using his most dazzling and inviting expression, no human woman had ever been able to resist that expression, let alone make coherent sentences, yet she had spoken quite clearly and said no.

Edward was brought out of his thoughts by Alice, doubled over in laughter, standing next to him. She was obviously amused by his expression, as were the rest of his siblings that were standing nearby, but had apparently _seen_ his rejection and she thought it was hilarious. He probably would have joined in her laughter if not for the horror and nausea he felt about the fact that he had almost killed Bella.

Deciding he would need to leave, at least for a little while, Edward turned toward his car. Alice immediately stopped laughing, seeing his decision, and followed him.

_Must you? Is it really that bad?_ Alice asked Edward with her mind. He nodded curtly before opening and entering his car. The rest of the family followed, although only Alice understood what had just occurred and what he was about to do. Edward stopped at the mouth of their driveway. He politely asked they continue on foot from there before heading to the hospital, trading cars with his father, and heading out of town.

...

**A/N**: (Cackles madly) That's right! Bella rejected Edward! Hahahaha! Anyway...for those that are wondering why Bella seems so out of character, like I said before, she witnessed her moms death and thinks she's either crazy or is being stalked by the killer who is planning on murdering her too, so obviously she'll be a little different, not to mention the fact that she doesn't really care if she lives or not...sorry, Bella's kinda angsty, but don't worry, she'll get better! :)


	8. Unaffected

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Eight: Unaffected**

James had watched Bella all throughout her first day at school. He had begun to feel more than a little obsessed, but had reasoned with himself that she was _his_ prey; therefore, he had to make sure no one got to her before he did. Keeping out of sight in the forest, James had been tempted, more than once, to reveal himself.

Five other vampires were attending the high school as students. James didn't really understand why _any_ vampire would want to go through that kind of torture, but he had noticed that they were _different_ from any other vampires he had come across. Their eyes were golden; it was as if they didn't feed off humans. A possibility, though he didn't know why any vampire would choose that kind of weak lifestyle.

Deciding that they were not an immediate threat, James ignored their presence. That was until one of them tried to make off with his prey. James watched the ordeal as Edward tried to dazzle Bella into following him for a walk. From the color of his eyes and the fact that he seemed to be trying so hard to get Bella to go along with what he wanted, James knew that this new vampire wanted Bella for his own.

Prepared to pounce as soon as the other vampire went to make his move, James watched as Bella blew the other vampire off. James was both amazed and a little irritated by the fact that Bella had been unaffected by the vampire's attempts to dazzle her. He wondered briefly if he would fail the same way the other vampire had, before turning his attention back to said vampire.

The other four young ones greeted his new target before heading to their car. James jumped from his hiding spot in the top of a pine tree, to follow his target. He knew it was illogical that he would be _this_ angry because another vampire made a move to drink the human he was after, but that didn't change the fact that he was completely irate.

James followed the young vampire even after he had switched vehicles. It would have been easy to pounce on the top of the car and defend his claim on Bella, but one of his feelings told him this vampire was headed north and wasn't coming back for a long while, if at all.

Instead of attacking, James stayed with the car, just close enough to see it, until it reached the Canadian border. Deciding that was a good point to turn around, James made his way back to Forks – back to Bella.

-x-

Bella had arrived home free of the feeling that someone was watching her. She presumed that meant her stalker friend had gone off to be somewhere else.

Enjoying the small sense of freedom, Bella grabbed one of the replacement copies of her favorite books that she had been unable to bring with her from her Phoenix home and set to go outside. Bella settled down in the swing she had hung from the tree next to the house.

After a good solid hour of reading, the sense of being watched came back. Bella sighed; glancing over her should she saw nothing in the trees, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. She waved, smiling, in the general direction she felt he was and went back to reading.

-x-

This girl had to be the strangest human in existence. As soon as James returned to the woods near Bella's house and got her in sight, she stiffened slightly, turned, and waved. It was as if she could sense him being there, but didn't care.

She even had her back turned to him. It wasn't like she could have ever even tried to fight back if he had decided to attack, but the fact that she saw no problem with turning her back on the man that was set out to kill her infuriated him. It was as if she was belittling him.

Taking advantage of her being outside and preoccupied with reading, James streaked over to her house and entered, too quiet for human ears, through the backdoor.

Making his way upstairs to her room, James searched for some sort of stationary. He wanted to gauge how easy his game was going to be, again, by leaving her a taunting note and seeing her reaction.

When he escaped back into the woods, he was surprised to see Bella, with her brow furrowed, looking at the house. It shouldn't have been possible that she had heard him, but it appeared she knew he had been in the house. What an interesting human.

-x-

After cooking and then eating dinner, Bella headed up to her room. It wasn't particularly late, but staying downstairs while her father was watching a game did not seem the least bit entertaining.

Once finished with her homework, Bella got ready for bed. It was still early, but sitting around doing nothing was not an option if she wanted to keep what little sanity she still had.

Bella pulled back her comforter and found something new: a note on her pillow. Picking it up and opening it, Bella read. The writing was elegant and looked somewhat like calligraphy.

_Bella, my prey,_

_Don't think I have forgotten about you. You are the sweetest smelling thing I will ever have the chance of tasting. Be seeing you, soon._

_Your Hunter,_

_James_

Bella smiled at the note, it had put more than one part of her mind at ease. She knew she would never be able to write as nicely as this note was written, so that told her that unless she had hallucinated the note altogether, the stalker was not a figment of her imagination, and he was, in fact, coming for her. Turning the piece of paper over, Bella scribbled something quickly on the back, leaving it on the desk. She then hopped in bed and curled up to sleep.

-x-

James had been careful to stay close enough to the house to hear Bella's breathing and heartbeat. Her heart had picked up speed for a brief moment, as though she was excited about something, but nothing more than that.

Frustrated and confused, James waited until he was sure both Bella and her father were asleep in bed, before crawling up into her room. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough, but he saw that she had left his note on her desk.

Walking over and picking it up, James snorted in disbelief. On the back of the note, Bella had written the one thing he had not expected: _Can't wait._

James quickly left back out the window so he could pace in the woods. He knew she was unique, definitely the most intriguing human he had ever come across, but he didn't understand how nothing could faze her. Normally all he had to do was appear intimidating in order for his prey to cower in terror, but this girl had instead stood defiant.

For the first time in more than two hundred years, James had to actually think of possible ways to scare his prey.

...

**A/N:** Hahahaha! Poor James. He be confused.


	9. Thoughts

**A/N:** For those that haven't read my other story (Abandoned) I will apologize...I'm sorry! I had this wonderful yet hideous problem that any time I would try and focus on writing a new chapter for this story or Numb But Moving I would hit a huge brick wall that had another story idea plastered to it. Finally I was like "FINE! I'll write that damn idea!" and so I did. It's called Abadoned and I think its a wonderful (albeit sad) story. So now I have the problem that when I focus on writing one story's next chapter, the idea of how to write one of my OTHER story's chapters comes into my head...wonderful eh? Haha...so please forgive me if the updates aren't as quick as you would hope. Anyway...here by my new chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Nine: Thoughts**

Edward Cullen sat on the same rock he had been on for the past three days. The subject of his thoughts had not changed and it disturbed him slightly.

Four days previously, he had fled his home in Forks, Washington to get away from a human girl. Most would ask him why, as had the people – or vampires rather – that he had both run from and to, but he wasn't quite sure how to explain.

For more than seventy years Edward had restrained himself against drinking human blood and then one simple human girl had almost ruined it all. Not only did the girl have the most exquisite smelling blood Edward had ever come across, she also appeared to be immune to both his unnatural talent to read minds and his physical gifts as a vampire. There was also the fact that she smelt strongly of another vampire.

The fact that she knew another vampire could explain why he was unable to dazzle her…possibly. If she was too used to the extraordinary beauty vampires possess then maybe he was nothing more than normal to her. It was a possibility that, for some reason, Edward did not like.

Thinking back about the other possible vampire caused a strange pang of an unfamiliar emotion to run through Edward. He didn't really understand why, but he wanted to know exactly who this vampire was and what he or she meant to Bella.

Bella…Edward would like to know more than anything what it was about that girl that seemed to draw not only his eye but the monster inside him. He had never heard of a specific person's blood drawing to a vampire more than a normal human's, but he had also been too ashamed to actually ask any of his family. He was known to his family as having the best control – save Carlisle – and it made him feel weak to know that it took every ounce of self control he had to not kill Bella during their biology class. Not to mention the fact that he had very nearly killed her after school and had only been stopped by the fact that his attempts to lure her away from the populated area were thwarted by Bella herself.

Edward groaned in frustration. He had been sitting out in the wilderness, by himself, for three days and the exact same thoughts had continuously been running through his head.

The coven in Alaska that shared his family's diet welcomed him with open arms – almost a little too enthusiastically. Unfortunately it only took about an hour before Edward ran out of the house to escape the very inappropriate thoughts of the three single female vampires, saying he was going "hunting". He had needed to hunt, but after his kill he had had absolutely no desire to return to that household and, therefore, remained outside, by himself, to think.

Edward was used to being by himself, but during his time in Alaska, he had felt unusually lonely. It was a strange feeling that he quickly disregarded as a longing to be with his family.

His family. That set off a whole other round of thoughts for Edward. He was furious with himself that he had been driven out of town because of one human girl. Even if the girl was extraordinarily beautiful for a human, she seemed to be unaffected by his vampire-ness, and his gift was useless to use on her. Edward groaned in frustration once again. He had been thinking about that blasted human girl entirely too much.

Standing up for the first time in over 72 hours, Edward had a new idea in his head. He would _not_ let that silly human drive him away from his family and home. Even if it meant he had to hunt more often as a precaution, he would return to Forks.

With a slight smile on his face, Edward sprinted back to the house outside of which his car sat to say a brief farewell and head back home.

-x-

Bella's week at school had been rather uneventful following her first day. It appeared her stalker friend had dropped out of the picture for some reason, so to be truthful, her days were quite dull.

The fact that she was new and therefore a novelty did not seem to wear off as quickly as she had hoped. In fact, by Friday it looked to Bella as though she might have to spend the rest of the year being gawked at by the small population of Forks High.

The only plus Bella had discovered in her first week was quite a surprise. During her second PE class that she had actually participated in, Bella noticed that she seemed to be slightly more graceful than she once was. Back in Phoenix, Bella had been such a klutz it could have almost been called a disability. Gym had been a nightmare for both her and her classmates who somehow managed to get hurt simply by her physical presence. In Forks, however, it appeared that her laidback, not really caring attitude had also resulted in an ability to actually walk across a flat surface, and not trip. A plus, but not a big one.

It had not gone unnoticed by Bella that Edward Cullen had not appeared in school the rest of the week. She was not particularly disturbed by the fact, but had wondered briefly whether she was in part responsible for him being missing. By what Jessica had stated about the Cullens it did not appear that they really approached other people and it could be possible – unlikely, but possible – that by turning down his invitation for a walk she had insulted him in some way. But those thoughts were quickly banished from her head with hysterical laughter following. Bella didn't truly believe that she would ever have such an impact on someone as to make them want to leave town let alone a class.

Even without Edward being there, Bella allowed herself to observe and think about the Cullens in general. They were a very odd and yet very beautiful group of people. As Jessica had said, they did not interact with the other people in school, at least not any more than they had to – though Bella did not fail to notice the small pixie-like Cullen, Alice, staring at her every once in a while on Friday.

Besides being deathly pale, looking as though they hadn't slept in years, being absolutely gorgeous, seeming to dance or glide rather than walk, and looking as though they should be in college rather than high school, the Cullens did not eat. They did, of course, order and buy food in the cafeteria, but they did not actually eat it, they only picked at it. For the briefest moment, Bella had wondered whether they all shared some sort of eating disorder – which could explain the extreme paleness of their skin and the rings under their eyes – but that thought was quickly dismissed by the fact that all of the Cullens appeared to be very muscular. Bella knew that no person who ate almost nothing would be able to build any sort of muscles; personal experience did dictate somewhat on her knowledge.

Bella seemed to have the same lack of appetite she had had since her mother's death. She ate, of course, but never actually felt hungry. It was an act that was more for Charlie then for her self-preservation.

During her boring week, Bella had been able to do a lot of thinking about her situation. She knew she wasn't suicidal, per se, because she wasn't actively seeking her death, but she was something close. It was after her second day of school, while cooking dinner, that Bella had her epiphany. The proper word for what she was would be apathetic. She just didn't _care_ anymore. Not whether she lived or died, or how well or badly her life went. Bella did feel a bit guilty during that train of thought because she realized that if her stalker friend was in fact real and not a figment of her imagination, she would welcome him causing her death with open arms. She wasn't exactly suicidal, but she would be relieved to find an escape from her guilt and pain through death.

Going over that morbid realization for probably the hundredth time that week in her head, Bella entered her bedroom. Absorbing the seen, she stopped dead in her tracks. Bella's eyes widened slightly, taking in the mess, before she sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

_Think of the devil and he shall appear._

The stalker friend she had been slightly – as ashamed as she was to admit it – scared had left for good, appeared to be back in town. And back to trying to torment her. All of the clothes she had worn the previous week were torn into little bitty pieces. Three of her favorite novels had also been shredded, along with one of her pillows – which just so happened to be feather – and her brand new comforter.

Bella let out a genuine laugh of amusement before going back downstairs to get the broom and dustpan. Although the act had inconvenienced and annoyed her, it was not the fact that her things were in ruins. It was the fact that she would have to once again go shopping to replace those things he had destroyed.

Grumbling to herself, Bella quickly picked up the mess before Charlie got home. He knew nothing of her stalker friend and Bella had absolutely no intention of telling him.

-x-

James paced the forest just beyond the Swan's household furiously. He had spent days thinking of different ways he would be able to tear down that strongly built wall of apathy around Bell Swan, only to have her laugh at his first attempt. She had_ laughed!_

He ran his hands through his hair, almost hard enough to pull it out. He had thought it was a good idea. Ruin the things she favored, any human, hell any vampire, should have been upset by that sort of thing, but this human laughs! James was both frustrated and excited at the prospect of discovering ways to faze this human's seemingly unshakeable mask. He stopped mid stride and smiled in anticipation.


	10. Future

**A/N:** I'm sorry it took so friggin' long to get this new chapter out. I was just on a roll with my other story _Numb But Moving_ and I was scared that if I broke off it to finish writing this I would lose my train of thought. But it's out now and yay! I hope you enjoy it, especially the small bit of forshadowing...as for the second part of the chapter, I'm sorry, it's a little violent, but I just felt I _had_ to do it. Anyway...READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Ten: Future**

Alice Cullen sat in her room completely lost in her own thoughts.

She actually wasn't sure _what _to think.

It was Friday afternoon and she knew her brother would be home relatively soon. He had decided early that morning to come home, that she hadn't been surprised about when she _saw_ it. What had surprised her was the vision that had followed.

Her husband Jasper had been constantly trying to know what was causing the vast amounts of worry, excitement, and nervousness that were coming off of her, but she didn't know exactly what to tell him. Her visions had never been one hundred percent spot on, but this vision, _this_ one felt the most concrete of any she had seen. Like it was fated.

Alice sighed, knowing that obsessively thinking about that vision would do nothing to help her know _how_ it would come about. And she also knew that she would have to void her mind of it completely before her brother came in 'hearing' distance of her. God knew that Edward was forever calling himself a monster and did not actually believe he was worthy of any true happiness. That had been exactly what her vision had shown: Edward completely and utterly blissful.

Smiling, once again Alice pictured the vision in her head.

_Edward stood, absolutely beaming at a young woman. The woman was obviously a vampire, and appeared to follow their dietary habits – golden eyes. Both sets of eyes were filled with love and adoration for the other person – vampire – that was present. _

The thing that slightly stumped Alice was the fact that the female vampire in her vision looked very familiar. In fact she looked exactly like what a certain Isabella Swan would look like if she were turned into a vampire, and soon.

At school Alice had not been able to help her eyes when they traveled to Bella whenever they were in the same room. It had not escaped her notice that the odd scent of a new vampire was coming from the girl, which was beyond strange, but the fact that his brother would fall hopelessly in love with said girl was quite stunning.

The apparent change in attitude of Bella from real life to what she was in her vision was also shocking. Bella Swan appeared to be a very kind and respectable girl. She _was_ beautiful in her own way, a mature beauty that had a kind of elegance to it, not like the flashy gorgeousness of Rosalie. But it also seemed the she was missing something, that the smile she put on her face everyday was completely fake and was only put on to placate the onset of questions the rest of the Forks high population would surely force upon her.

Alice sighed once again wondering whether the Bella she had seen in her vision was what she normally had been, what she _would_ have been if her mother had not died. It was sad to think that a person with such life and energy could be drained of it so fully.

Glancing at the clock, Alice was shocked to see so much time had passed during her musings. She immediately sat up straighter, and banished all thoughts regarding Bella Swan and any vision she might or might not have had about the girl from her mind. Thinking about more trivial things, Alice plastered a smile on her face and raced down the stairs to wait for her brother's arrival.

-x-

It didn't take Edward long to drive home once he had made his decision. He was anxious to see his family, and although he did not want to admit it, he was also a little nervous to see Bella Swan.

By not being able to hear her thoughts Edward was unable to know Bella's reactions to him or whether she was noticing more than she should. He had certainly acted oddly on her first day, but all he could do was hope that he would not be so tempted again. Edward convinced himself that he would hunt the evening before going back to classes in order to desensitize himself to her.

After the first day he would, hopefully, have a better gauge on his control level around her. It disturbed him greatly that one simple human could take up so many of his thoughts. He understood the fascination he held over not being able to read her mind, but he didn't think it should have _that_ much hold over him.

Trying, and failing, to push Bella out of his thoughts, Edward pulled into his family's driveway. There would be many questions as to his disappearance and his return, but he thought he had his answers down okay. He was just ashamed to admit to his family that he was too weak to stay.

-x-

Bella left for school Monday morning cradling three broken fingers on her left hand: her pinky, ring and middle finger. Her boring week had led to a rather eventful weekend. Not because of any outing she went on. No. It was because her stalker decided to make a personal visit.

Saturday night Bella awoke to James sitting on her chest, grinning wildly at her. His eyes appeared crazed, and if she had had any fear of death, Bella would have been absolutely terrified. As it was, Bella looked at the madman levelly.

"What's up?" She spoke softly, making sure not to wake Charlie.

The grin on her stalker's face faltered slightly, obviously not expecting her reaction. She raised her eyebrows, awaiting an answer. Rather than speaking, he bent forward so his face was only inches from hers. Bella blinked furiously as her eyebrows shot up as far as they could. It appeared almost as though he would kiss her, but he couldn't possibly be thinking anything about that, right?

Bella's hopes were met when James growled deeply at her. He seemed to be trying to frighten her, but Bella had to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from going into a round of hysterical laughter. The relief of knowing his intentions were not sexual and the oddity of the situation caught up with her.

Blinking rapidly to prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks, Bella continued to look at her would-be attacker. A look of satisfaction spread across his face, obviously taking the moisture in her eyes as being caused by fear.

A sound resembling more of a purr than a growl sounded as he bent himself farther down. James skimmed his nose against Bella's throat, smelling her blood and wondering why it did not seem any more potent than usual.

She couldn't hold back any longer when her stalker sounded like a demented cat. Bella broke into a burst of quiet, yet manic laughter. She didn't want to wake Charlie, and was, therefore, hushed, but even biting the inside of her cheeks didn't help anymore.

As she began laughing James pulled away, looking at her in confusion. At first he thought it might be possible she was so terrified she had gone hysterical which led her to laughter, but by the fact that her laughter increased at the look on his face and that her blood smelled the exact same as normal, he knew it was amusement.

He tried to frighten the girl and instead amused her.

Another growl erupted from his chest as he pulled himself off of Bella and onto the floor, which caused an even louder outburst of laughter. Bella seemed to be hyperventilating slightly as she curled into a ball, muffling her laughter against her knees.

James paced her floor, trying to decide what to do. The girl never reacted in the way he expected, something that was unheard of since he had become a vampire. He had that as a gift, or talent, to know, or at least have an idea of what people would do, how they would react, but she seemed to be immune to it – a first.

Looking back at her shaking form, James' frustration peaked. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to feel physical pain, to cry out, beg for him to stop, terrified. Then he would make it stop, by sinking his teeth into her neck and tasting the most delicious blood he ever had.

He strode over to her and ripped her legs out of her arms. She looked at him, her laughter finally dissipating. Raising her eyebrows once again, Bella questioned him.

"So, you finally figure out what you want to do then?" Her voice held a mocking tone of indifference. It was as if she was asking a friend what flavor soda they wanted. She didn't really care.

_I'll make her care_. James thought as he reached for her hand, lightening fast, with a cruel smile on his face. He grabbed her wrist softly, not wanting to hurt _that_ but snapped her pinky almost instantly. Bella's eyebrows rose further as her eyes dilated in pain. Though she showed no voluntary sign, her eyes told him that she felt it. James' smile grew when he came to that realization.

His smile twitched, threatening to disappear, when she still made no sign of pain after the second finger. He wondered if the speed with which he was breaking her fingers was part of the problem. James was snapping them swiftly, enjoying the sudden dilation of her pupils, but what if he did it slowly, would it hurt her more?

Testing his theory, James took hold of Bella's middle finger lightly, not wanting to hurt it – at least not at first. Slowly adding more pressure, he watched as Bella's eyes widened slightly. When it finally snapped he still got no more result than the others. Actually, no, he did. After breaking her third finger, Bella _smiled_ at him.

Dropping her hand in disgust and slight confusion, James ran his hands into his hair. He glared at the stupid human, annoyed and frustrated with how little she seemed to be affected. Her smile stayed in place but became more inquisitive.

"Are you done? Or were you planning on something else?" Although Bella's tone was light, the question mocked him.

This human held no fear for him within her heart even after torturing her in more than one way and killing her mother. James yanked on his hair again before letting his hands drop back to his sides. Looking down at her hand, he could see the fingers already swelling.

James was suddenly disgusted with himself and the whole situation. It didn't make sense that he couldn't figure out this simple human, the way to break her. That sort of thing had never occurred before and he couldn't imagine having to admit defeat. Even now he didn't want to back down, but he wasn't sure how to proceed. With one last lingering look at the human sitting before him, James escaped out her window.

Bella waited a few minutes, to make sure her stalker friend hadn't changed his mind about having more to do, before heading downstairs to find a pack of ice. She knew if she didn't the swelling would make her hand become a ridiculous size, but she didn't want to go to the hospital just yet. A few more hours of sleep after taking three aspirin were what she wanted and got.

Snapping back to the present, Bella realized she had already reached the school parking lot. She carefully reached for the door with her right hand, very conscious of the three fingers that were standing straight out, as if at attention. Sighing, Bella wondered if they would be the only injuries or if they were just the beginning.


	11. Embarrassed

**A/N:** So I kinda' think I'm on a ROLL with this story. There is this wonderful piece of advice that Stephenie Meyers wrote somewhere on her page that basically says that while writing a story do not feel you HAVE to write it in the order it's supposed to play out. If you find yourself thinking of a scene, no matter how far ahead it is from where you are, write it down. There's always cut and paste and you don't HAVE to use it even after you wrote it down, but it will prevent you from forgetting about it and also will probably be a lot better than if you were to write it down a week later with just the basic idea in your head. So yeah, that's what I've been doing for this story and I have a ridiculous amount written down for future chapters. I just need to figure out how to connect where it is now to the scenes I've already written down. So...ANYWAY! I hope you enjoy the chapter! It's LONG!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Eleven: Embarrassment**

Bella cringed internally as she entered her first class. She knew there would be an onslaught of questions surrounding her broken fingers and thankfully, she already had a story.

A new benefit, if you wanted to call it that, of being indifferent had been discovered by Bella the day prior. When she had had to explain to both her father and then the ER doctor what had happened, she was able to lie much more smoothly and convincingly that ever before. Bella still did not _like_ lying, but she discovered she _could_.

Before arriving in Forks her face had been so readable that anyone except a complete idiot could tell when she was lying or when she was trying to keep something from them. But, over the past two weeks or so, Bella had been constantly keeping up a fake face, to cover the pain she was in. It appeared being able to hide that pain also made her capable of being able to hide a falsehood. For that, she was grateful.

Seeing the look on Mike Newton's face, when she sat down in her first class told Bella that she didn't have to wait long for the interrogations. The only thing she could hope for was that the gossip would spread fast enough she didn't have to go through many people's first-hand inquiries.

"Hey, Bella. What happened to your hand?" Mike darted his eyes between her hand and face, looking concerned.

Bella sighed slightly before answering. "It's embarrassing really. I rolled off my bed early Sunday morning, half asleep, and just didn't land right. The result? Three broken fingers." She sighed again, acting annoyed with herself.

Through her explanation Mike tried to look sympathetic. "Oh. Well that sucks," was all he managed to get out before turning back towards his desk in order to hide his silent laughter.

Yes, Bella knew this story was embarrassing, but she also knew it was plausible. Though she wasn't nearly as clumsy as she once was, she was sure everyone in the small school had seen her trip or stumble at least once.

Her day continued much that same way with the people she knew asking her what had happened. By the time she reached lunch she was sure everyone in the school knew, thanks due to Jessica Stanley and her network of gossipers.

With lunch also came a new surprise: snow. During the last period before lunch, the sky had decided to dump some very wet, slushy snow on the school. If there was anything Bella disliked more than rain, snow would be it. There was just something irritating and extremely unpleasant about having your socks wet and freezing your tusch off at the same time.

Bella made sure to hurry into the cafeteria, in order to avoid the mini snowball fights that were breaking out across the campus. She noted several of the people – mostly male – that normally sat at the same table as her had still not come in.

Another group missing, though Bella hated that her eyes pulled in that direction, were the Cullen siblings. Edward had been missing the previous week and Bella had no doubt that he would be missing again that day, so it was quite a surprise when all five Cullens made their way into the cafeteria, laughing and shaking snow out of their hair.

Bella stared at them while they made their way into the food line and had to shake her head, in order to clear it and look away. There was something fascinating about watching a group of "normal" high school students look like runway models while they were all wet and covered in snow. At least, that was the reason Bella _hoped_ she had been staring at them.

The conversations at her table were not particularly stimulating so it wasn't long before Bella felt both her eyes and mind wandering. It wasn't until Jessica pinched Bella's shoulder to get her attention and asked her what she was staring at, that Bella realized she _had_ been staring – at the Cullens. There was something different about them, they looked more alive, less godlike. Their cheeks were slightly flushed, presumably from a snowball fight that had occurred, and they looked healthier, the dark rings under their eyes were much less defined.

Suddenly Edward's eyes met hers. Bella looked away immediately, feeling slightly embarrassed at having been staring at them, but her brow furrowed as she realized something. Edward's eyes were nothing like what she had seen the week prior, they were a warm amber color, much different that the black coals that had glared at her before.

Jessica brought Bella out of her musings of how an eye color could change so much without the help of contacts.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you." Bella looked at Jessica to see who she was talking to and was surprised to find it was herself. She blinked at the chatty girl before glancing back over to the Cullen table. Edward was, in fact, _staring_ at her. He had a slightly frustrated but amused expression on his face as he continued to look at her intently. Blinking again, Bella turned back to Jessica. The girl continued to look over at the bronze-haired god before Bella flicked her.

"Would you stop staring at him? He'll never look away if you don't." Bella didn't enjoy being examined too closely by people these days. Once her mother had told her that her face read like an open book, expressing every emotion she felt, and although she kept a mask of indifference up, Bella wasn't quite sure if anything showed through it.

With a slightly dreamy giggle, Jessica looked away and back to the people at her table. She obviously had not gotten over the crush she seemed to have on the only single Cullen, even if he had turned her down.

Sighing, Bella looked up at the clock before standing. It was still a good five minutes before the lunch period was over but Bella would rather sit in that class and wait there than have the chance of being caught in the line of fire of wet slush compacted into hard projectiles. As she said a quick goodbye to everyone at the table, she saw Mike start to pick up his stuff, obviously he was hoping to walk her to class, but considering the fact that he appeared to enjoy being in the middle of all those snow fights, Bella quickened her pace.

Stepping outside and pulling up her hood, Bella realized it was no longer snowing. In fact, there wasn't even any snow on the ground any longer. The rain that was falling had washed it away. Feeling slightly smug, Bella made her way to her Biology classroom, hoping she was fast enough to make it there before Mike caught up to her.

She did make it, fortunately, because when Mike made his way into the classroom about ten minutes after she had arrived, he was completely drenched. It seemed that the lack of snow did not stop the revenge others had planned on him for his snowballs to the backs of people's heads. Clenching her jaw and pursing her lips to prevent herself from laughing, Bella turned away from the door to look forward.

Not knowing quite what to expect, Bella stayed facing forward as Edward Cullen took his seat next to her. The previous week he had both looked like he wanted to murder her and sweep her away within the same two hours. Bella had wondered briefly over the past week whether he was bipolar or had multiple personality disorder. It would explain _some_ things.

"Hello Bella." _Acting nice it is_. Bella thought as she turned to look at her lab partner. He was still sitting stiffly, as though he was afraid to move, and the farthest he could get from her, without being in the isle, but his chair was angled slightly to her, a friendly gesture.

"Edward." She smiled at him slightly, her eyes flickering to him as she nodded in his direction.

She had been nothing but nice to the people in Forks High and planned to keep it that way – even if she _was _dealing with a crazy person. Still facing front, Bella could _feel_ the intensity of his gaze. He appeared to be staring at her in deep concentration. Deciding she didn't like being stared at any more than necessary, Bella turned to face Edward full on.

"Is there something you wanted?" She asked while raising her eyebrows. Edward blinked at her, obviously surprised at either her reaction or the fact that she had noticed him staring without actually _seeing_ him.

"No, sorry." He mumbled just as their teacher started speaking. Both Edward and Bella faced the front. Edward was very confused by this human. He couldn't read her mind so he had no idea what kind of person she was or how she would react to certain things, and that made him fascinated; but he was also surprised by her indifference to him. He had never been vain, really, but he knew how attractive vampires appeared to people. He knew that even women who had bound their heart to someone else had a hard time not staring outright at him, yet this young woman did not appear to care. It was absolutely intriguing.

He wondered again whether it was because she knew another vampire. Edward could still smell that other vampire on her and although he didn't know why or what it was, he felt emotion because of it. There was another vampire that had obviously rendered Bella immune to the dazzling effects of his looks, who spent time with her. Who might it be and what were they to her? _Why_ would they spend time with her anyway? Yes she was a fascinating and intriguing creature, but spending time excessively with a human was both dangerous to the vampire who would be trying to keep their secret, and the human who could possibly die from one mistake of the vampire's. Edward felt himself getting more irritated the more he thought about the mysterious vampire.

A small wave of panic went through him. What if the vampire wasn't worried because they had already told her. What if Bella already knew what he and his family were but he couldn't read her thought to find out. She hadn't run screaming from him so it didn't appear as though she feared him if she knew what he was, but that didn't prove that she wouldn't. Then an exhilarating thought occurred to him. If Bella was, in fact, associated with another vampire and, knowing what they were, did not shy away from them, could that mean she would accept him as well?

Edward shook his head slightly, a little confused as to where that last thought had come from and why it sent his stomach flipping around in circles. The idea excited him greatly for some reason that he could not pinpoint. Suddenly, Edward was very aware that Bella was speaking to him and waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hey. You there Edward? You're kinda' supposed to be my partner. I mean I can do the lab by myself, but I figured you would like a grade too, yeah?"

Edward blinked at her, surprised he had been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn't noticed her leaning towards him. He shook his head again in order to clear it, before answering. "Of course. Sorry, I was just caught up in my own head."

Bella gave him a look saying _I'm sure you were_ and Edward couldn't honestly tell whether she meant it in a good or bad way. Not being able to read her mind was becoming increasingly more frustrating, rather than less.

Bella had to concentrate very hard on not rolling her eyes when the lab they were to be doing had been announced, seeing as she had completed it two months prior back in Phoenix. Edward, of course, knew what he was doing as well, so they finished in no time.

The lab included using a microscope and slides. While Edward was handing Bella one of the slides, his skin brushed against hers. It was hard and cold, but that's not what had been surprising. Both almost jumped out of their seats as what felt like a small spark went through the spot where they had touched. Both blinked at each other before turning back to the microscope to act like nothing had happened.

Looking at the clock, Bella realized that it had only taken them half of the period to finish their assignment. While the rest of the class continued to argue, debate, or gripe about their identifications, Bella and Edward were done.

Bella began doodling to fill the awkward silence that had fallen between them. Normally she enjoyed silence but it felt like there was too much energy between her and Edward to sit comfortable.

Hearing the slight scrape of his chair, Bella looked up at Edward. He was once again looking at her with a hint of frustration in his eyes. Sighing, Bella lifted her eyebrows in a silent question: _what?_

Seeming to understand that he had been staring too long, Edward looked away before looking back and speaking. "It's too bad about the snow huh?"

Bella refrained from laughing by pursing her lips slightly. "Not exactly." He was making small talk.

"Oh? You don't like snow?" He seemed interested but not as accusing or incredulous as another might have been. Feeling a little more comfortable in their conversation, Bella answered truthfully.

"No, not so much. I don't really like the wet."

Edward raised his eyebrows, wondering why she would ever move to Forks then. "Forks must be a hard place for you then."

Bella looked at him seriously and then back towards the whiteboard, before muttering. "You have no idea."

"So why did you come then?" Edward was enjoying their little conversation and getting to know this mysterious creature. That was until she looked at him again.

Bella looked at Edward as though he was the most idiotic person on the planet. Didn't the _entire_ _town_ know the reason for her arrival, as well as speculate more?

Edward realized his mistake too late and his eyes widened slightly. "Oh. I'm sorry Bella. I guess I just forgot. I'm sorry." He looked away awkwardly, feeling absolutely mortified at his lack of tact.

_Wow. I've never felt Edward _that_ embarrassed before. Wonder what happened. _

Jasper's thoughts filled Edward's mind as he tried to see if he had been found out, which, of course, he had. Sighing, Edward realized he would probably have to think of an explanation as to what would have embarrassed him during his Biology class.

Bella's sigh followed Edward's, she feeling slightly bad for making him feel so stupid. She supposed that not everyone in the town gossiped to a ridiculous degree and even if he had heard of the reason behind her arrival, it didn't mean Edward had actually _thought_ about it.

"Don't worry about it Edward. I guess not everyone in this town gossips as much as I thought." She smiled a little tightly.

Edward resisted the urge to grin because of her forgiveness and instead laughed lightly at her comment. "Oh, no. You were right, everyone in this town does gossip excessively. But I live outside the city limits, so I don't count." He smiled at Bella and for the first time, she noticed exactly how attractive she thought he was.

The bell rang before Bella had a chance to reply but she was able to smile again before he left. As she walked towards her gym class, Bella thought that maybe Edward wasn't as much of a crazy person as she had first thought.

...

**A/N:** (cackles madly) Edward finally got embarrassed!


	12. Confusion

**A/N:** Just a warning. The main events (or most of them) will most likely occur in my little fic, of course they'll be changed to fit the story. I just wanted to apologize to those that are like "RAWR! Why aren't you just writing your OWN story." I will tell you! It's because this just my Twilight story. It's a "what if this happened during twilight, what would change" kinda story so most of the stuff needs to be that same, right? RIGHT! So, anyway, READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twelve: Confusion**

Bella awoke to silence. She sat up straight in bed, looking towards the window. For a moment her brain that was still fuzzy from sleep did not grasp the significance of the view. Then it hit her. The white clouds, the lack of sound. It wasn't raining anymore.

She hopped out of bed quickly, feeling that the day would probably be a bit better with the lack of precipitation. That was until she truly looked out the window. It wasn't raining and it wasn't snowing, but it had. The inch or two of fluffy white stuff covering every bit of the ground said so.

Groaning and wondering if she should just climb back in bed, Bella made her way to the bathroom. Rain was one thing, snow was just on another level of horrible. She had had enough balance problems without including the horrors of slick ice and freshly fallen snow.

Even with her better-than-what-it-used-to-be balance, Bella had a difficult time making it down the slick driveway to her truck. She looked from the truck, back to the road, thinking that it would be wise to find a pair of snow chains in the shed and put them on before heading off to school. Looking over at the shed and the distance she would have to walk, trudging through the snow, she laughed quietly to herself and hopped in the truck. There was no way she would intentionally walk around in the snow, that was just asking to trip.

Although she wasn't particularly worried about her truck taking any damage should she crash, Bella drove slower than normal, for those other drivers that were on the road and in more fragile vehicles.

At the school, Bella quickly found a parking space and immediately took notice it was a good six spaces away from Edward Cullen, who was leaning against his car. She immediately reprimanded herself slightly for even paying attention to the strange boy. He had tried more than once to converse with her the previous day, but she had very purposefully and subtly given him the cold shoulder. It wasn't that she didn't like him, in fact, even with the indifference she felt towards life, he caused the most amount of emotion inside her. It was just that she didn't want to allow herself to get close to anyone, in case they were once again torn away. She didn't need the pain of losing Renee to be fresh once again.

Bella was pulled out her thoughts by a gleam of silver she saw out of the corner of her eye. Moving in that direction, she noticed a very peculiar thing. Her truck was wearing snow chains. Her brow furrowed, Bella moved to stand behind her vehicle and saw that both back tires had them.

Charlie. It must have been. Her heart clenched slightly at the small show of affection. It wasn't like either him or her to be forward with their emotions, so seeing this small gesture, especially with how blank she had been lately, gave Bella a very warm and yet guilty feeling. Blinking back the tears that were threatening to form, Bella heard a loud screeching sound.

As she whipped around, her eyes took in the horrorstruck faces of many of her classmates, including Edward. Finally all the way around, Bella saw the reason. A large van was skidding at an odd angle toward her, the driver was obviously not in control of the hunk of metal that was barreling toward her truck, with her being in the way.

All other thoughts were wiped from Bella's head as she took in the fact that even had she wanted to move out of the way it would not be possible. A strong sense of relief washed through her, knowing the pain would probably be minimal, considering the size of the two vehicles she would be squished between, before something hard and cold hit her.

Bella had just enough time to realize the blow had come from the wrong direction before more screeching and grinding met her ears. A sickening and rather loud crack sounded at the same time a bolt of pain shot through her head and small stars spread across her vision. Rather than blacking out or her vision becoming blurry, Bella was still able to take everything in as large cold hands moved her body out of danger's path.

Edward Cullen was lying on top of Bella. Somehow, he had managed to snatch her out of the way of the oncoming van and pull her to the ground. As her brain caught up with the events she had witnessed, Bella realized he had not only pulled her down, but had managed to stop the van from crushing her legs, stopped the van itself with a mere hand, and had also somehow managed to get around five cars and to her in less than a second.

Bella blinked once, looking up at her inhuman savior and tried to hold back her glare. She wanted at least some answers before she let herself wallow in disappointment.

"How did you get here so fast?"

At her voice, Edward seemed startled. He immediately moved himself as far from her as the very limited space would allow. Looking her over once, he answered.

"I was right next to you Bella. Lucky thing, that."

She couldn't help the small frown that formed on her face as Bella countered. "No. You weren't. You were leaning against your car. And that's six spaces over. I repeat, how did you get here so fast?"

Edward's eyes widened infinitesimally as she spoke. Obviously surprised she had noticed, let alone remembered. "No I wasn't. I was standing right next to you. You hit your head pretty hard, maybe you're just a little confused."

A full blown glare spread across Bella's face before she could stop it. She knew she had hit her head, she could feel it, but that didn't mean she was stupid or confused. Taking a deep calming breath before speaking, Bella tried again. "I know I hit my head. But I'm not confused. I saw you when I pulled in and I saw you when I turned to see the van. You were still against your car then, and then half a second later you were standing next to me dragging me to the ground. How did you get here so fast?" Bella really didn't care about the reason. She now knew he wasn't human and was most likely the same thing, or at least very similar, as what her stalker friend was. She just wanted to know exactly _what_ that was.

Edward's eyes grew slightly cold and hard as he looked back at her. "I'm sorry Bella, you must be confused. I came over to talk to you and just managed to pull you out of the way in time."

Bella's snappy retort on where he could put his claim of her so called confusion was cut off when she heard the van being dragged out of the way and the sound of sirens. She sighed heavily, knowing that Charlie would be there if he had heard about it and all the more frantic after what had happened to Renee, or at least what he _thought_ had happened.

Sure enough, as soon as the van was moved out of the way and paramedics were looking her over, Charlie was there, pale faced, and, for lack of a better word, hysterical. He kept asking if she was okay and using phrases like "my baby" or "my little girl". She suppressed the urge to slap him to snap him out of it by taking his face in her hands.

"Dad! I'm okay. Nothing's wrong. But these dumb guys won't let me go until they run twenty tests to confirm what I would be able to tell them myself." She gestured towards the paramedics and her father seemed to calm slightly at her words.

"Now don't worry about it, and go back to work. I'll probably be stuck there for an hour or two." Bella stifled the shiver that wanted to wrack her body at the idea of being in the hospital. With her father successfully pacified, Bella was able to make her way in the back of an ambulance to the hospital.

She was severely irritated at the fact that Edward Cullen was sitting up front while she was strapped to a gurney in the back like some mental patient, but bit back on any comments. Bella was well aware that being uncooperative only led to more tests and a longer stay.

After being poked, prodded, and x-rayed for at least an hour, Bella was brought back to a slightly more private room. She quickly removed the neck brace they had insisted she wear and threw it under the bed next to her, hoping no one would think to check there.

The pleasant silence surround her was quickly interrupted as someone else was wheeled in besides her. It was a boy she recognized as Tyler, she wasn't sure about his last name. He must have been in the van that almost hit her because he looked pretty banged up and had several cuts and bruises on his face. He definitely looked worse for wear.

"Bella, right? I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened. I guess I was going to fast and then I just lost control. I feel so awful."

Bella quickly interrupted him, wearing the best smile she could muster up in her severely irritated state. "It's alright Tyler. There's nothing wrong with me and besides, it could happen to anyone. Just be glad Edward was there to pull me out of the way. Not your fault I have bad luck."

"Edward? He pulled you out of the way? I didn't even see him"

"Yeah. Apparently he had come over to talk to me. Lucky that. See, no harm done."

She wasn't sure if he had even heard her words because he immediately went back to rambling about how terribly sorry he was and how he would do anything she asked in order to make it up to her. After about a minute of listening to his jabbering, Bella decided to close her eyes while she waited for the doctor, in hopes her new roommate would take it as a cue to stop talking.

Though he did quiet significantly in the volume of his apologies, he didn't stop. Bella heard the swish of the curtain that separated her from the hallway being moved. Figuring it was the doctor, Bella kept her eyes closed.

"Is she asleep?" The musical and very familiar voice snapped her eyes open. She glared at Edward Cullen standing at the end of her bed, looking down at her with a very amused expression on his face.

"Oh Edward. I'm so sorry. I didn't even see you with Bella, but she said you pulled her out of the way. Thank you and sorry. I-" But Edward cut Tyler off from rambling anymore by holding up his hand.

"Hey, no problem. I'm not hurt so don't worry about it." Tyler took Edward's acceptance a lot better than he had Bella's which only angered her further.

She looked Edward up and down once before speaking "What, they didn't feel the need to strap you down? Coming to gloat?"

He laughed once, probably at the iciness of her tone. "You have to know the right people. And no, I was actually coming to get you out of here, but if you don't want me too…" He trailed off as he turned back towards the curtain.

"No! I mean yes! Just get me out of here!" Bella hoped slightly that the franticness in her voice was not as noticeable to the other people in the room as it was to her, but knew that hoping was probably a lost cause.

Before Edward could say anything more another person walked through the curtain. Another amazingly handsome figure to be exact. He had blonde hair that fell casually into his face, as though he had combed it back but it had fallen forward after hours of work. As he looked towards Bella she also noticed the similarity in skin tone and eye color that he shared with Edward. He was no doubt Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the adoptive father of Edward and the rest of his "siblings". Though it was odd that he shared similarities to his adopted sons and daughters.

"Ah…how are you feeling Miss Swan? I heard you hit your head." Bella shot another glare at Edward, having a feeling that he was the one who told him, before turning back towards Dr. Cullen and answering with a sweet smile.

"Yes, I guess I did. But I feel fine. No concussion, no confusion, and certainly no damage." The doctor blinked at her once before turning back to her chart.

"Yes, I see you're right about the no concussion part. Is your head sore at all?" He started touching the back of her head tenderly. Bella couldn't help but wince when he found the sore spot.

"I guess it's a little sore, but nothing I haven't dealt with before." Bella once again smiled sweetly, hoping she would get out and go home sooner the nicer she was.

Dr. Cullen seemed to blink at her once more before looking back at his son, who shrugged slightly, and then back at Bella. "You should probably take some aspirin for the pain, but other than that it looks like you're good to go."

As soon as the words left his mouth Bella smiled genuinely and hopped down from her bed. "Great. Thank you Dr. Cullen." With that she turned toward the sheet and walked out.

Bella could feel a presence behind her, although she could not hear him moving. Knowing exactly who it was she stopped, not bothering to turn, before she spoke.

"What do you want Edward?"

His voice seemed slightly surprised when he responded. "That was different."

Bella turned to face him. "What, exactly, was different?" She couldn't help the irritation that was leaking into her tone.

"How you acted. You were so nice and polite to my father, yet you always act so cold to me and everyone else at school." He seemed slightly hurt, but Bella was beyond caring.

"I'm perfectly polite at school Edward. And yes, I was nice and sweet because it usually makes doctors and nurses let me go quicker if I am. What does it matter and why are you following me?"

Edward appeared quite taken aback at Bella's need for a reason. "I, uh…I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I'm perfectly fine Edward, as I told you before." His eyes seemed to flash in recognition at her tone and comment. He was obviously realizing the fact that she had seen more than he had intended her to.

Before he could speak again, Bella's disappointment and anger took her over. She lashed out at him, seeing as he was the reason for it all. "Why?"

Edward was, reasonably, genuinely confused by her lack of question. "Why what?" He cocked his head slightly to the side, studying her intently.

"Why did you save me? Why did you bother?"

His eyes widened once more, surprised at her questions. "I don't know…" Confusion colored his voice before indignation filled him. "I'm sorry, should I have just let you die then?" Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Yes. You should have." Bella stated, utterly serious, before turning on her heel and leaving a stunned Edward behind.

...

**A/N:** Don't hurt me. Remember! Bella doesn't want to commit suicide but DOES want to die...so she saw that as a perfect opportunity to go and Edward got in her way, ergo: Bella's mad at Edward. Ha.


	13. Ignoring You

**A/N:** I'm sorry about this chapter. I don't know if it will seem a bit awkward to you, 'cause it basically covers the same time period for three different people, so it goes from week one to week three, then starts over following a different person. I just didn't see any other way to put it...sorry! I hope you enjoy it anyway, and we get into the fun soon.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Thirteen: Ignoring You**

After arriving home from the hospital, Bella began to go over what she had said. A small part in her brained screamed at her that she was the stupidest girl in the world. Edward Cullen had saved her from being squished by a van and she had yelled at him instead of thanking him. Even if it _was_ how she truly felt, it did nothing but hinder the façade she kept up at school and in normal life.

For some reason Edward could get Bella to say things that she truly meant but did not want to say to others. It was a dangerous skill that she feared. Knowing she would need to apologize the next day and truly seem like she meant it, Bella went to bed early.

It was that night that she dreamed of Edward Cullen. He wasn't a star in her dreams that rubbed her back with suntan lotion on a gorgeous beach, no the dreams were much more secretive and mysterious. Always on the edge of her vision, Edward would remain out of reach. She would chase after him, even though she would tell herself to stay away, but she could never reach him. The sad smile always stayed in place on his face, and sometimes he would shake his head slightly, as if disappointed.

Almost every night the dreams continued. They were disturbing and annoyed Bella after a while. She did not want to get close to anyone or care for anyone, not if there was a chance they could get hurt or taken away, but with each night the dreams came, she felt herself caring more deeply for Edward Cullen.

At school Bella made sure to let on nothing regarding her feelings for her mysterious and possibly inhuman lab partner. After apologizing the first day, Bella had went on ignoring Edward, hoping that the feelings would just go away on their own with time. It helped that he ignored her as well, but the feelings did not change.

Weeks went by without speaking a single word to Edward and Bella could feel the sadness in her grow. She welcomed the torture schemes her stalker friend thought up because they were a distraction from the turmoil she felt inside. The physical pain he sometimes brought her dulled the emotional pain she was in. But when she did not respond as he apparently wished her to, those distractions stopped.

-x-

James had watched the whole ordeal from his cover in the trees. When he saw the van skidding towards Bella he almost panicked. She was his; there was no way she could just die from a stupid accident. He _would_ have her. James knew that he would take her blood.

He was both grateful and strangely angry that the other vampire, the one who had attempted to claim Bella as his on her first day, had saved her. James didn't know why that other vampire would save her, unless he had the same sort of ideas that James did. The thought irritated him and James decided he would need to remain closer to Bella until he was sure there was no threat to her.

James kept telling himself that the possessiveness he felt for the human girl was purely for her blood. But he still lowered himself to feeding off of animals during the weeks following the accident. Occasionally, during the night, he would travel far enough to feed on a human, but mostly he fed off the wildlife. It made for an interesting eye color – an orangey color.

He tried various ways to induce fear in Bella: sneaking up on her, making loud noises, destroying more of her things. He had even tried other ways of physically hurting her. James didn't trust himself to draw blood and resist it, so all the injuries were mostly bruises. It wasn't long before he gave up on it. Bella did not respond to physical pain, though she most definitely felt it.

One week James decided to try a deprivation torture. Every night he would wake Bella continuously, just when she had settled into sleep. It led to a very groggy human and many more than normal stumbles on her part. Otherwise she was unaffected.

Frustrated with his progress in finding the right answer, James decided to just watch her. He figured that maybe after some time she would begin to feel safe. Then when she finally felt everything was back to normal, he could take it away in terror. Weeks went by with nothing more than James standing on the sidelines watching Bella live her life.

-x-

After giving his family the only excuse he could think of that made logical sense, Edward agreed that both he and his family members should avoid Bella Swan and act as though nothing had happened. He told them that he saved Bella Swan because if she had been hit by Tyler's van, then surely her blood would have been spilt. And if her blood was spilt, Edward felt relatively sure he would not have been able to control the monster inside of him that demanded he take it. The Cullen family accepted the excuse, some grudgingly, only because it made sense and Alice did not foresee the Swan girl telling anyone the truth of the situation.

Unfortunately for Edward, the real reason as to why he saved Bella did not make much sense, at least not to him. He had only thought of the other logical reason _after_ the fact. When he saw the van sliding towards her and knowing what it would mean, all he could think was _not her, no. Please not her. _

Edward didn't understand the impulse. Sure the human girl intrigued him. She never did what he would expect and without being able to read her mind he had no idea as to why that was. But in reality, he should have been relieved, maybe even glad, that her death was coming. If she no longer existed then she would no longer torture him day in and day out just by being there. Her blood called to him like no other he had ever met and it was a struggle every time she shifted in her seat or flipped her hair. He should have been happy, but he had been terrified.

For the next several weeks following the accident, Edward had been torn. He wanted to talk to the girl, to get to know her, to try and understand the mysterious workings of her mind. But he also wanted to run from her. Edward was terrified of the monster within him, he did not want to lose control of it and kill Bella. He knew it would crush him, although not why.

For his family and for Bella's safety, Edward stayed away. He ignored her in class just as she did him, and almost ran away any time he happened upon her. It hurt him to ignore her, especially the first day, when she had tried to apologize for her behavior.

When Edward had sat down in Biology, Bella had turned to him, a small smile plastered on her face. It was the same smile she used with everyone in the school. It was fake.

"I'm sorry about how I behaved yesterday. I think it was just the shock of the accident. I should have been thanking you, not yelling at you. So thank you for your help yesterday."

Even though Edward could see she was trying her hardest to keep the smile on her face, he could see the sadness in her eyes. Whether the sadness meant she was genuine in her apology, or if it meant she had not been lying the day previous, he did not know. But he wanted to.

Edward wished to speak with Bella, to have her confide in him so he could know what it was that made her so sad all the time. He wanted to heal her if he could, especially if it was the truth when she had told him she wished for death. Her life had just begun, what would make such a beautiful young woman wish to give it all up?

But Edward stayed true to his family's agreement. He just gave a slight nod before turning back to the front of the classroom. She didn't try to talk to him again after that. As the weeks drifted by, Edward found it harder and harder to ignore Bella. He would find himself catching glances of her during class or lunch, listening in on her conversations with people.

The fact that Bella did not seem to care he was ignoring her hurt. He found himself feeling lonelier by the hour. When at home, unable to listen in on the thoughts of those that surrounded Bella, Edward would lock himself in his room, listening to music and thinking of her. About how she could even make stumbling look elegant, the flow of her body, the way she would appear concerned for others, the sound of her voice, the way she had first said his name.

One evening, something in him snapped. It had been weeks since he had spoken with Bella and he needed to go for a run. As his legs flew across the ground, Edward thought deeply, not caring where he was going. It wasn't until he began to smell the faint scent of another vampire that he paid attention. He was coming up on Bella's house and the vampire that he smelled on her everyday had quite obviously been there, but they weren't there now.

Feeling like he was tempting fate in someway, Edward climbed the tree that stood outside Bella's window. He knew it was hers because the ambrosia smell of her blood was so much stronger there. Edward's breath caught in his throat when he saw her.

Bella was sprawled out slightly on her bed, sleeping deeply. Her face looked peaceful, so much more beautiful then when she was awake and wearing the diplomatic mask. She sighed in her sleep, mumbling something, before turning to face the window. Edward was crouched in the tree, transfixed by her beauty.

It wasn't until he heard her speak again that he could move. She whispered his name, with such love and longing that Edward almost fell out of the tree he clung to. Bella was clearly still asleep, but she had said his name. She was dreaming of Edward.

He regained his composure slightly, as he stared through the window at Bella. Willing her to say more, Edward found himself leaning farther and farther towards the window. The smell grew stronger, slightly, of the other vampire. They had apparently climbed through her window, but that didn't matter to Edward then. He wanted to hear more.

Then it happened, and what she said was better than anything he could have ever expected.

"I love you, Edward." She murmured before turning her head back into her pillow, almost as though she was embarrassed.

Edward's heart swelled to a dangerous size when he heard those words come from the lips of the angel before him. It was then that he realized exactly why he wanted to talk to Bella Swan so much, why he thought of her almost constantly, and why he felt lonelier the longer he ignored her. Edward, for some reason unknown to himself, had fallen in love with the human. He had never thought himself capable of this kind of love, but feeling it now, he knew it was true.

Leaping from the tree, Edward raced back home. He needed to speak with the resident empath in order to confirm the feeling he was experiencing. Edward also hoped that Jasper would be willing to tell him the emotions Bella was feeling the next day for him. No longer would Edward ignore the human girl, but he needed to know if she felt anything back.

...

**A/N:** I promise there will be more James later on. He just wasn't that important in the story right now. :)


	14. Irritation

**A/N:** I'm sorry about this chapter! It may seem a little confusing to be placed after the ending of the last one but I realized I kinda skipped ahead...just A LITTLE. This is the day that makes Edward go for a run and listen to Bella talk. So "tomorrow" is the day he is going to talk to her. Get it? Yay!

Also. Bella doesn't ALWAYS dream of Edward, and like in Twilight she usually only dreams of him near the end of her REM cycles. James isn't quite as bad as Edward was, he does feel extremely possessive over Bella but believes it's only because she is his prey. Therefore, he stays near her house, checking on her occasionally during her sleep, but doesn't find it quite as entertaining to watch her sleep through the night, as Edward did in Twilight. THAT's why James hasn't heard anything about Edward from Bella, but trust me, it's coming. :)

I hope you got from the last chapter about the reason behind Bella's weirdness. She smiles during physical pain because it distracts her from the overwhelming emotional pain she has kept bottled up inside her. Remember, Bella's mom was murdered in front of her, not only was Renee her mom but also her best and only friend, that leaves its scars. Not to mention that Bella refuses to mourn for her, she believes that death should be coming relatively soon, so she doesn't need to waste the time away that she has left with her day, mourning for her dead mother. She's not much better as a zombie, but it's better than being depressed.

ANYWAY!! Hope my explanations make sense, hope the story makes sense, and I hope you enjoy! READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Irritation**

The school's girl's choice dance was coming up relatively soon, causing a dramatic increase of giggling and whispering from the female population of Forks High. Bella did not enjoy the new turn of events and refused to be pulled in. Even before moving to Forks, she had not been what one would call a _normal_ high school girl and refused to stoop to their level of immaturity just to appear so.

She was quite surprised when Jessica Stanley asked her permission to ask Mike Newton to the dance. Bella was well aware of the fact that Mike followed her around like a puppy but had never laid any claim on him. She immediately told Jessica she had absolutely no problem with it, wasn't even sure why she had asked her, and wished her good luck.

Bella had no intention of attending the dance, even if she wasn't being stalked by a lunatic. She just wasn't that type of girl and felt no need to attend a social event where she would have absolutely no fun and probably only embarrass herself.

At lunch that day, Bella saw a bad sign. Jessica was looking slightly dejected, not talking hardly enough to be called normal for her, and she was sitting multiple people away from Mike who was looking strangely awkward and guilty. Bella hoped that it didn't mean Mike had turned Jessica down, but couldn't think of many other possibilities.

Come biology Bella found out the problem. After sitting in her seat and turning so she could ignore Edward who was mutually ignoring her, Mike came and sat on the edge of her desk. Trying to not look terribly annoyed, Bella raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at the Golden Retriever imitation.

"Hi Bella. How are you?" He seemed much brighter than he had at lunch, though considerably more embarrassed. Bella saw nothing good that could come from this encounter. She decided to try and put a stop to it.

"Fine, Mike. Was there anything you wanted?" He did seem slightly put off by her lack of excitement but trudged forth regardless.

"Er…yeah. Actually I was wondering if you were planning on asking me to the girl's choice dance?"

Bella stared at Mike for several long seconds, contemplating whether to lynch him right then or save it for a better time. She opted for the latter in order to continue her diplomatic façade. "Um…no, not really Mike. I thought Jessica asked you."

The pink in his cheeks grew slightly as he looked to the side, severely disappointed. "Yeah. She did, but I kinda' thought we would go."

Bella suppressed the urge to scream that she would never _ever _want to go anywhere with him, and instead answered, her tone polite but firm. "I think you should tell Jessica yes, Mike. She'd be really happy if you went with her."

Mike grumbled something unintelligible before turning back to her, looking slightly accusing. "I see. Are you planning on going to the dance with someone else?" He tried to subtly eye her deskmate, but Mike was never good at subtlety.

"No, Mike. I'm just not going." The small smile was no longer on Bella's face and her tone was slightly icy. Mike took it as a cue to leave, quickly hopping up.

"Oh, okay. If you change your mind and decide to come, you'd be welcome."

Bella smiled tightly, hating the fact that Mike could be so dense sometimes. As he turned and walked back towards his own desk, Bella could swear she heard Edward chuckling softly.

"Something _funny_?" Bella let her irritation flow freely in her tone while talking to Edward.

Rather than answering, he continued looking forward at the now talking teacher, seeming to be ignoring her completely.

"Thought not." Bella said stiffly, hoping Edward would understand the fact that she did not appreciate being laughed at. Instead of getting the point, he just chuckled softly some more.

Bella put her elbow on the table and reached her hand up to her face, placing her thumb under her jaw and running her index finger, rather firmly, across her eyebrow repeatedly. She hoped it would calm the irritation that seemed to build in her whenever around Edward Cullen.

As Bella made her way toward her car she saw a figure looming near it. Hoping they were just standing there for no reason and definitely not waiting for her, Bella continued walking forward.

Luck was not with her.

Eric excitedly greeted her when she reached him. He courteously moved out of the way when she reached for her door, opening it and placing her backpack inside.

"What's up Eric?" Bella hoped this had nothing to do with what she thought it might, but once again, her hopes came to no avail.

"Well…I was actually wondering if you wanted to go with me to the dance?" He squeaked out, his cheeks turning pink.

Bella stared at him for a few seconds, blinking a little quicker than called for, hoping to suppress the urge to just run away from the school screaming. "Uh…I'm not going Eric. Sorry." She didn't quite sound sorry, but Bella definitely didn't feel sorry for turning him down.

He quickly muttered something resembling, "okay, bye," before shuffling off to his own car.

Bella hopped into her truck, hoping that would be the last of insane dance invitations. As she pulled out of her spot and began to move forward a certain silver Volvo pulled out quickly, cutting her off. Edward's siblings had not even made if from their classrooms to the car, so he must have been purposefully blocking her path.

Blinking furiously in order to prevent her left eye from twitching – a new involuntary action her body had developed in reaction to all her irritation – Bella _tried_ to sit patiently.

She looked in the review mirror and could see a line of cars behind her growing. Tyler was directly behind her in a new sedan, seeing as his van had been not much more than scrap metal after colliding with her whale of a truck – the truck had nothing wrong except needing new tail lights and maybe a new paint job.

Bella hoped her glare was boring holes in the back of Edwards head as she waited – along with everyone else behind her – for his siblings to make it over and into the car. Suddenly a tap on her window broke Bella from her unrealistic hopes. Tyler was standing next to her passenger door, tapping for her attention. Confused slightly, she glanced in the review mirror once again and saw that the car behind her was running, but empty.

She reached over to the crank for the window and made it about two turns before giving up. It had opened a good four or five inches, good enough to hear through.

"What's up Tyler?" Bella could only hope this was not yet another bout of apologies for almost squishing her, which he had only stopped the week prior.

"Well, I was wondering if you would go to the school dance with me."

Surprised, Bella stared at him until he began to fidget. She cleared her throat before answering. "Thanks for inviting me Tyler, but I'm not going." Why were these boys asking _her_ to the dance? She wasn't particularly interesting, completely plain, and besides, it was girl's choice!

"Oh. I see. Well, there's always prom!" Tyler said before walking quickly back to his car. Bella was so confused and exacerbated that she had not had time to reply. All other emotions turned quickly to anger and irritation as she looked back forward with narrowed eyes.

_He_ was the cause of this. Maybe not the other two, but this time, most definitely. Edward's shoulders seemed to be shaking in laughter as Bella stared daggers at his back.

An idea suddenly struck her and she smiled evilly. Surely if she were to let off the brake and bump into the stupid shiny Volvo they couldn't blame her. One little bump wouldn't hurt that much. Well, it definitely wouldn't hurt her truck. The Volvo on the other hand would probably need a new paint job. But it would be worth it.

Before Bella could remove her foot off the brake, the rest of the Cullens had piled into the car and they were speeding away, much too fast for a parking lot. Grumbling and scowling once again, Bella headed home.

...

**A/N:** Bella is irritated with Edward because he has been able to get her to say things she otherwise wouldn't have, for the sake of her facade. She's also pretty irritated with life in particular, because its not going quite as she would have hoped. As said in the last chapter, James is just sitting on the sidelines, watching her live her life.


	15. Getting Help

**A/N:** A new chapter! YES!! So I've been a bit busy and apologize for not getting this out earlier. I hope to have more updates up SOON for both this story and my others. In case you're confused, like I said in the last chapter, chapter 14 took place the day Edward decided in chapter 13 to go observe Bella sleeping. So this chapter takes place when Edward gets home from watching her sleep. I wrote chapter 13 in a hurry and didn't even realize I had put that part in there and screwed up the whole flow a bit...sorry. Hope you enjoy and READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Getting Help**

Jasper knew the minute Edward had returned home from watching Bella sleep. The change in what he was feeling and what he had been feeling for the past weeks was tremendous.

Edward had always been rather dark. He was alone in his existence and had some pretty depressing beliefs regarding how much of a monster he was. He had always been vaguely unhappy, and though he didn't know it, lonely.

The loneliness he felt had increased the past few weeks he had forced himself to ignore to human he found himself so attracted to. Edward had been almost miserable. But now, after returning home from his run, he was elated. Excitement, apprehension, hope, happiness, and what surprised Jasper the most, a developing romantic love, were all rolling off of him in waves.

Jasper was surprised when Edward immediately made his way to find him. As soon as they were in the same room, the excitement and nervousness took over the rest of his emotions.

"What's up?" Jasper asked, feeling very confused by the interesting array of emotions. The feeling of love that he could still feel was surprising in a good way. If Edward could find a person to love, his family would be so happy for him.

Edward took a deep breath, calming himself. "I have a favor to ask. I know you usually try and avoid telling me people's emotions, just like I avoid telling other's people's thoughts. It's a privacy thing, and I understand. But I would like you to tell me what someone is feeling tomorrow."

Jasper thought for a moment, contemplating the intensity of the emotions coming off of his brother, before answering. "This seems rather important to you, so I'd be happy to. Who is it that you would like me to watch?"

A large crooked grin broke out on Edward's face, before it turned serious. He crept closer to Jasper, whispering so no one else could hear, even with vampire hearing. "Bella Swan."

Eyes widened, Jasper looked at his brother, wondering if this was the person he was feeling love for. "Why?"

Edward's head cocked to the side, presumably at Jasper's thoughts. "Is that what you think it is? Love?" The last word was no more than a breath. Jasper wasn't even sure if he had heard it or just read his brother's lips.

"Yes. That's what I feel coming off of you. I can't tell you how happy everyone would be, knowing. Who is if for? Who do you feel such affection for?"

Edward raised his eyebrows in a 'who do you think' look before answering his brother's previous question. "I need to know what she's feeling. She holds this mask on so perfectly that I can never tell if she really means what she's saying."

Jasper laughed at his brother. "But you can hear what she thinks Edward!" Shame and frustration suddenly radiated off of Edward. Jasper blinked in surprise. "What?"

Edward bit his lip slightly before looking Jasper in the eye. "No. I can't. I've tried so hard, but I just can't seem to get into her head. It's like she's not there."

Jasper's eyebrows rose in disbelief, but he knew his brother wasn't lying. The human girl had eluded Edward's gift, something no one else had done. No wonder his brother was interested in her. "Alright. Just tell me when and I'll focus on her."

The broadest grin spread across Edward's face before he fled to his own room. His emotions told Jasper just how thrilled he was at the prospect of understanding Bella better. Jasper didn't understand it though. He knew that humans were just as much individuals as the people of his family were, but why would Edward fall in love with one? Why, after all the vampire female vampires that had all but thrown themselves at him, did Edward choose this girl? Trusting that his questions would be answered soon, Jasper went back to reading.

-x-

Edward planned on waiting in the school parking lot the next morning for Bella Swan to arrive. He hadn't wanted his family to be any more suspicious of him than they already were – from the lack of sullenness coming from him – so he couldn't leave any earlier than normal. When they arrived at the school, Edward had been reassured by the lack of her vehicle that she was not there.

He wanted to – _needed_ to – talk to her, to understand the human. Before standing outside to wait, Edward locked eyes with Jasper and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. His brother understood.

It only took about five minutes of waiting before the roaring engine of Bella Swan's truck could he heard. He made his way to her as she parked, and by the time she had hopped out of the cab, he was leaning against the side of her hood. Bella looked up and the only sign of surprise at his sudden appearance was her pupils dilating.

Bella gave him a stiff smile before moving to walk past. Edward would have none of that. He stepped into her path, a smile on his lips as he greeted her. He enjoyed the way her name rolled of his tongue.

"Good morning Bella."

She looked up at him, feeling slightly confused and cautious. The strange person before her always made her say things she didn't mean to without her even realizing it. Extended conversations were not a good idea, no matter how much she thought about him.

"Edward." She nodded to him rather stiffly, ignoring the slightly giddy feeling at having said his name.

As Bella continued to walk, Edward fell in step with her. He was positively floating with elation at remembering what he had heard Bella say in her sleep and refused to let her solid mask deter him from his task.

"So…I heard you aren't going to the dance." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Bella whipped around to glare at him. She couldn't believe that another person would be asking her about that stupid dance. The fact that it was a Greek _god _only made the matter worse – seeing as he was probably just trying to find a way to annoy or tease her. After a good two months of solid silence, he chose _this_ topic to start talking about. Not that Bella could blame him for his silence. She had ignored him quite thoroughly as well.

Biting back many harsh words that may have been uncalled for, Bella answered politely – or at least, as polite as she could manage. "Yes, that's correct. I don't dance."

Bella stopped looking at Edward to continue walking. Her immediate and direct response had him slightly confused and wanting more. She didn't dance, but _why_ didn't she dance? "Oh? Is there a reason?"

Shooting him another small glare, Bella stopped walking, yet again. Her face took on the appearance that made Edward know she was thinking about the past. How he wished he could read her mind. "I used to be _very_ clumsy. More so than I am now. I guess I just don't like putting myself in situations where I'm sure to be embarrassed." That far away look left her face only to be replaced by wide-eyed surprise.

Bella shook her head slightly and continued to walk towards her class, slightly faster, while Edward remained at her side. Once again she had said something she hadn't mean to, it was like he had a gift for it. No, that was a lie. She knew, truthfully, that she felt comfortable around Edward. Too comfortable. Bella relaxed sometimes to the point where she forgot to keep up her façade. It was dangerous for her heart and mind. Bella couldn't let herself get too attached to any one person, or if that couldn't be helped, she needed to at least make sure she didn't _show_ it. That way her stalker would never know and couldn't use it to hurt her again.

That train of thought sobered her up almost immediately. They were standing in front of the building for her first class and Bella needed to cut this conversation off, to make it look and seem as though she didn't care a hoot about the boy – _man_ she reprimanded herself mentally – in front of her. "Was there something in particular you wanted to discuss Edward?" Bella raised an eyebrow, keeping her face looking bored.

Edward's smile faltered slightly, not knowing what to think from her decidedly cold behavior. "Uh…" he stumbled over what he was going to say, not quite knowing what would be the right thing. He had wanted to impress on her how much he needed to discover more about her, yet at the same time he had wanted to urge her to stay away from him. He was dangerous, he knew that, but he also knew that Bella spent at least _some_ time around another vampire. Surely he couldn't be much worse. So instead he settled for something light, noncommittal. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn't mean to cut you off in the park lot."

Bella's eyes flashed slightly, remembering the anger and irritation of the prior day, before placing a smile that did not quite reach her eyes on her face. "It's alright. Those things happen." Abruptly, she turned, leaving Edward standing alone in the rain, watching after her.

As soon as Bella entered her classroom door, Edward swiftly turned around, seeking out his brother's thoughts and location. He rushed towards him, not quite fast enough to raise eyebrows, but close.

Excitement and apprehension were rolling off of him by the time he reached Jasper. Edward looked at him expectantly, ignoring Alice who was sitting close by. Jasper answered the unasked questions with his mind, wanting to keep their conversation as exclusive and private as Edward hoped it to be.

Jasper had been able to see the whole ordeal from the window he sat near, so, rather than using words, he relived the memory of watching Bella and Edward interact while feeling their emotions. Edward was thrilled by the time the memory was over. He was slightly confused as to the reason behind Bella's apprehension and irritation, but the fact that she felt no real negative emotions towards him – quite the opposite really – gave him hope.

A surge of gratefulness hit Jasper before Edward smiled and left the room, heading to his own class. It surprised Jasper just how much this simple human had managed to worm her way into his brother's affection.


	16. Lunchroom Chat

**A/N:** So this one is a bit longer than my other chapters have been. I just couldn't bare to split it up so it's all there. The infamous lunchtime chat. I hope you like my version of it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Sixteen: Lunchroom Chat**

The rest of the morning Edward had to consciously keep himself from _skipping_ to each of his classes. He had a slight high from the knowledge of Bella's affection for him – slight or not. It wasn't until just before lunch that he came down from his high.

Walking through the halls, Edward passed his biology teacher, Mr. Banner. The sight of the man made the smile on Edward's face grow – thinking about talking to Bella during class – but then the thoughts of the older man hit him.

_Need to get the lancets. I can't believe I have to keep them locked up in that closet! You would think children would have more intelligence than to use them for anything than what they were made for, but no. After that incident with Tommy Barley two years ago we – _

Edward came to a standstill as he stopped listening to the thoughts. If Mr. Banner were thinking of lancets, then that meant they would be blood typing during class. It happened once a year, just around this time so Edward didn't know why it hit him so hard, but it did. Biology was his only class with Bella. It was his only genuine excuse to talk to her.

Although he had managed not to attack her so far – just barely – Edward knew that having her blood out in the open and exposed would break all the carefully built self-control he had. There was no way he would be able to go to Biology.

A sense of gloom fell around him at the thought. Jasper gave him a questioning glance as they made their way through the hordes of students to the cafeteria. He had wanted to talk to Bella more that day.

Jasper _had_ agreed to sense her emotions for Edward, but he didn't think that his brother would actually be willing to do it indefinitely. Edward had hoped to discover whatever it was he needed to before the day was out. It was Friday and Alice had informed the family earlier that the good weather would keep them out of school until Wednesday. Waiting almost a week to discover if Bella actually felt anything for him seemed unbearable.

As his family entered the lunchroom an idea struck him. Edward's excitement shot through the roof, causing Jasper to send him another look. Edward locked eyes with his brother, sending him a wave of expectation and anticipation that he felt. Jasper's thoughts let Edward know that he had understood although he did not understand how Edward was going to manage to talk to Bella during lunch, when the rest of his family was there – especially Rosalie.

Edward veered off to the opposite side of the cafeteria from where his family normally sat, as much to answer Jasper's mental question as to avoid Alice's bombardment of questions. She was quite literally _squealing_ in her head.

Skipping the food line altogether, Edward chose an empty table and watched the door, waiting for Bella to arrive. He hoped that she would see him, and if she didn't that one of her 'friends' would notice the oddity of his sitting alone. The last thing Edward wanted to do was have to actively pursue her and ask Bella to join him.

Luck was with him.

Jessica Stanley walked with Bella as they entered the cafeteria. She was jabbering about something that Bella had long since stopped paying attention to. Out of habit, Bella's eyes made a slight sweep of the room, ending at the Cullen's table. Surprisingly one of them was missing, Edward.

Momentarily puzzled and slightly disappointed, Bella headed toward the lunch line regardless. She had spoken with Edward just that morning and had expected him to be there for their Biology class. It was distressing to be so torn between such a small matter. Bella wanted Edward to be there because she believed he was trying to speak with her now, but at the same time she didn't want him to be there. Bella did not want to get any closer to people than necessary. Especially when said person makes her say things she doesn't intend to.

Grabbing a bottle of water, Bella only realized that Jessica had asked her a direct question because of her pointed stare. Desperately trying to recall the other girl's previous statement, Bella realized she had heard it. It was the one thing that half of her desperately wanted to hear.

"Is Edward Cullen staring at you?" Bella blinked at Jessica upon realization she had no idea where Edward Cullen _was_.

"Uh…I don't know. Is he?" Jessica rolled her eyes slightly and looked back to the bronze-haired young man sitting by himself. A smile played across his lips as Bella's eyes met his. He put his hand in the air, palm up, and curled one finger toward himself. He was beckoning her.

"He doesn't me _you_? Does he?" Jessica's surprise at Edward's actions prevented her from successfully hiding the true and insulting tone of her voice.

Bella looked at her classmate levelly before turning back to her caller. "I don't know. Guess I'll find out." And then set off in his direction. Jessica stood, staring after Bella for a few long seconds, her jaw slightly agape, before turning and walking toward her own table ready to speculate with the others there as to what Edward Cullen might want with Bella Swan.

Edward was both pleased and extremely nervous that Bella was making her way towards him. Her face was as blank as ever, but there seemed to be something shining in her eyes – curiosity perhaps.

Upon reaching the table, Bella did not sit. Rather, she stood behind the chair directly across from Edward with her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Why don't you sit with me today?" Edward tried to make his voice alluring, but not overly so.

"Why?" Bella's expression did not twitch from her slight curiosity. The smile on Edward's face, however, faltered quite dramatically. He glanced across the room as his brother, unsure how to continue.

_She may sound cold but all I can feel coming off of her is excitement, curiosity, expectation, and a little amusement…well there's a little apprehension in there too, but don't worry. Just tell her you want to talk. Man that girl has a good blank face._

Encouraged by Jasper's view of the situation, Edward's smile was back full force. "I'd like to talk with you. If that's alright?"

Bella eyed him for a brief second, tensing slightly to prevent herself from quivering in excitement. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before taking the seat in front of her. Setting her bag on the floor and her water on the table, Bella entwined her fingers on the table, putting them under her chin, and looked at Edward expectantly.

"Not hungry?" He asked Bella, eyeing the water in front of her. Edward had noticed how little Bella seemed to eat, but usually she at least had _something_ solid. He didn't like that she wasn't eating.

Bella's appetite had still yet to return and she had taken to only eating minimal amounts. "No. You?"

Edward couldn't help the smile that widened at the idea. He – as well as the rest of his family – couldn't eat human food. He _was_ hungry, in a sense. Having Bella so close was increasing his thirst for her blood steadily, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "No."

Something flashed in Bella's eyes that Edward didn't quite catch. It was comprehension of the fact that Edward was laughing at an inside joke. The idea that he was not human was suddenly forefront in her mind. But she said nothing. Their position was his idea after all; he was the one that should start the conversation. And they both knew it.

Suddenly Edward wasn't so sure of himself. He had wanted to speak with Bella, to both warn her away from him and to get to know her, but now he wasn't sure how. When Biology class was no longer a venue for a conversation between them, the brilliant idea of talking at lunch hit him. But what to talk about. Thinking back over the few things said between them, Edward decided to start back at the beginning.

"I'm sorry."

Bella's eyebrows shot up in confusion. "For?"

"Well you tried to apologize to me, for yelling at me at the hospital, but I ignored you. I have been ignoring you. I'm sorry." Bella blinked at Edward, thoroughly surprised.

"That was two months ago Edward. But, it's alright, I guess." Her eyebrows pulled together at the idea of him apologizing. "I've done my share of ignoring you as well."

The comment brought a slight smile to both Bella and Edward's faces. "Yes you have. May I ask why?"

Bella's smile vanished instantly. She was keeping herself on guard to prevent any lapses of control over what came out of her mouth. "Why is it _you_ have been ignoring me?"

Edward was displeased at the fact she was deliberately avoiding his question. "I believe I asked you first." Bella simply continued to look at him with slightly raised eyebrows, her facial expression expressly saying 'yeah, and?'. Edward sighed, suspecting he would have to be as open with Bella as he could be before she would open up to him. "It's not good for you to be around me. I was doing the right thing."

The already raised eyebrows continued to creep higher. "And now?"

Meeting her gaze, Edward found himself lost in the depth of her brown eyes. Without really thinking about it, he blurted out his answer. "I don't care anymore. I don't like being away from you. I'm giving up. If I'm going to hell, I might as well be a little happy beforehand." Edward blinked in astonishment, the faces of his family perfectly mirroring his. It seemed that Bella could get Edward to say anything she wanted. Hopefully she didn't realize it. "And you? I told you my reason for ignoring you. Why were you ignoring me?" He prodded, hoping she would play his game of quid pro quo.

Bella sighed, deciding that it would only be fair to answer his question. "The same reasons I guess. I'm not the safest person to be around." A sad and surprisingly bitter smile spread across her face, surprising Edward almost more than her comment had. If only she knew what he was, then she wouldn't be saying that to him. How could any human be dangerous to an indestructible vampire? But then Edward really thought about it.

She did smell of another vampire. It was possible she already knew what his family was, what _he_ was. Was it possible that she spoke truth? Was it possible that a human _could_ be dangerous to a vampire? Shaking his head to clear it of that idea, Edward decided to try and get the answers from _her_.

"What do you mean?" Bella only shook her head, refusing to answer the question. There was only so much she was willing to let him know. That she had a stalker was definitely not something she was going to share.

Edward let it pass, not wanting to scare her off with too much prodding. He switched to a lighter topic. "I do believe I've made your friends angry."

Eyebrows rising as the word "friends" Bella didn't even bother looking over her shoulder at the group of people staring at her. "I think they'll be fine."

"I don't know. Your boyfriend wants to come save you from me. He thinks I'm not being kind."

"I have an idea who you might be referring to, but I assure you he is _not_ my boyfriend." A pleasant warmth spread in Edward's chest at the sound of Bella's indignity. It _relieved_ Edward to know that Bella had absolutely no interest in Mike Newton.

"So why are we here Edward?" Although Bella did secretly enjoy being in the company of the Greek god, she did not want her affection for him or her attraction to him to grow. And if that could not be helped – which it seemed that it couldn't – then she at least wanted to make sure he – or anybody else for that matter – did not _notice_.

"I already told you. I'm tired of trying to stay away from you. I don't want to anymore. I give up."

"Give up? On what?"

"Being good. As I said, if I'm damned already, I might as well do what I want." Edward was, yet again, shocked at his admission. He clenched his jaw slightly, against the other words that wished to pour themselves out of his mouth. He hoped that Bella's amazing perceptiveness had failed to notice the information he had unintentionally given to her. Then, his thoughts wandered back to whether or not she already knew what he was. How he wished he could read her mind. It would make their careful conversation so much easier.

"Mm…I see. So does that mean you wish to be my friend? Or are you just letting me know so I don't have a heart attack if you start talking to me?"

Blinking in surprise at her directness, Edward shook his head. He was amazed by the human sitting in front of him. She never did what he expected and almost everything that she said took him by surprise. Bella was quite an enigma.

"Friends…" He said dubiously. That wasn't quite what he was wanting, but then again he knew nothing about the girl, or what she thought of him. Friendship might just be the only thing he would ever be able to get from her, no matter how much he cared for her. It mattered nothing if she didn't care about him. "Yes, I suppose. I just have to warn you that I might not be the best person to be your friend."

"Mm…I see." Bella said again, but this time Edward saw something spark in her eyes. Something that looked a lot like understanding. Edward was suddenly very nervous he had said too much, or had said it in just the right way that she now understood what she hadn't before.

"Do you?" Edward's gaze was intense as he once again tried to find a way to read her mind. But that wall that kept her mind safe from him had no holes, no way to penetrate.

"You think you're…dangerous. Or bad in some way. Not good for me." It was a statement. Bella spoke as though someone else had told her the information as fact and left her to repeat it.

Ignoring the silent question for conformation, Edward turned it around on her. "Do _you_ think I'm dangerous?"

Bella's eyes left Edward's to travel his body. She looked at his arms, thinking of how they had indented the side of Tyler's van without marking him. Then back up to his face, gorgeous enough to lure any woman to him. Yes, he could be very dangerous. A flash of James' face pressed into her mother's neck flashed in her memory, before it was quickly discarded. "Yes. I do believe you're dangerous. Bad though? No. Definitely not." The image of James and her mother flashed again, along with the comparison she had once made between James and Edward. Most outstanding was the difference between their eye color.

Edward's eyes widened slightly before tightening. "You're wrong." His jaw was clenched and Bella knew he wasn't talking about the statement of whether he was dangerous of not. The reaction inflated a bubble of amusement in her.

She laughed.

It was the first time Bella had really laughed out loud since her mother's death – laughing at her stalker friend not included. The sound was unguarded but tainted slightly with bitterness.

Bella stopped after a moment, mirth still in her eyes and a smile on her lips as she spoke. "You don't know what you're talking about." The image of her mother and step-father's corpses swam to the surface of her mind, successfully killing all amusement in her.

Edward stared at Bella for several long seconds, suddenly wondering what she had meant. After 104 years of existence, a high school girl had managed to make Edward feel like a child again. The conviction with which she spoke and the hard look in her eyes, told Edward that he was wrong in his beliefs even though he knew that he was evil with every logical part of him. He was a monster, no matter what the human in front of him said.

"Tell me what you're thinking." Edward pleaded. Even if he couldn't believe it himself, he still wished to know what it was that made Bella believe that he was not something bad. He had no such luck though. A simple glance at her face told Edward that she would no more tell him what she was thinking than jump up on the table in front of her and strip tease him. He sighed. How frustrating not being able to read her mind was.

Surveying her surroundings, Bella noticed much time had passed without her noticing. The cafeteria was more than half empty; students were making their way towards their classes. A smirk on her face, Bella decided to tease Edward slightly. "I _think_…" Edward's eyes lit up at her word choice, obviously looking forward to her next words. "…that we should get to class. Otherwise we'll be late."

Edward slumped back into his seat, disappointed at her comment. He was not going to class because he did not want to kill the girl before him, yet he wanted to go just to continue speaking with her. How confusing his life had become since she arrived. "I'm not going to class."

Bella eyed him skeptically. "Why?" Edward had not missed one day of Biology aside from those rare sunny days, so it seemed odd that he would skip.

"It's healthy to ditch every once in a while." It _was_ true, in a way. It was healthy for _her_ for _him_ to skip. Seeing as he would surely kill her if he were to go.

"Alright then. You enjoy that." Bella said before turning and walking towards class. She was disappointed that he wasn't coming with her, considering it was the only class they shared, but another part of her screamed in triumph, telling her she shouldn't be even _thinking_ about him, let alone talking with him. Complications like relationships were just not something Bella needed anymore. Or, at least, that's what part of her kept saying.

...

**A/N:** Oooooh! Bella is finally deciding that she likes Edward...yay... :) James'll be in the next chapter...promise.


	17. Feeling Faint

**A/N:** Okay, so...I kinda lied. Well not really! But, there's no James in this chapter like I promised. It's just that this scene took longer than I expected it to so James' part is gonna' be in the next one! PROMISE! Well...I hope you enjoy my version of Bella's fainting spells. READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Seventeen: Feeling Faint**

Bella knew something was wrong as soon as she entered the classroom. First of all, Mr. Banner was not there, something that had yet to happen. Second of all there was a strange array of boxes on his desk. They looked oddly familiar – and not in a good way.

It wasn't until said teacher walked through the door holding another box that she understood. On the side of the small plastic box was a label: _Micro-lancets. Biology class use only!_

_Oh no. _Bella mentally cringed.

There was no chance that Bella could keep her calm composure under such circumstances. A cold sweat had already broken out across her brow. She felt oddly winded, her heart racing and a faint ringing began to sound in her ears. As Mr. Banner jovially stabbed Mike Newton in the finger the room began to spin.

Bella quickly put her forehead on the table, trying to ignore everything else around her, and control her breathing and the acrobatics her stomach seemed to be doing. She took deep breaths in through her mouth; it only made the vertigo slightly better. With all she was doing to block out her surroundings, it wasn't a surprise that Bella did not hear her teacher's approach.

"Bella? Are you ill?" His tone was genuinely worried, although whether it was for Bella or the potential mess on his classroom floor, she did not know.

"Yes." She answered breathlessly.

"Would you like to go to the nurse's office?" Mr. Banner asked soothingly.

"Uh huh." Bella rolled her head to the side, so her cheek was pressing against the cool tabletop and she could see her teacher.

"Would someone be willing to help Bella to the nurse's office?" Mr. Banner asked the classroom tentatively. Bella did not have to look up or hear the response to know who it would be.

"Sure! I'll help her!" Mike called cheerily. Bella groaned at the prospect but let him lift her to a standing position. Though the boy had a hold that was tighter than necessarily called for in the situation, Bella could tell that he was doing little to support her weight.

As soon as they were out the door and around the corner of the building, Bella sagged to the ground. For her helper, who was not helping all that much, the move was unexpected and all he could do was assist her in sitting down gently – rather than plopping onto the hard concrete. Almost having to yank them away, Bella pulled her hands from Mike's in order to slump onto her side and put her cheek against the cold wet ground. It only made things a _little _better.

"Uh Bella? The office isn't that far. I mean, if you think you can walk, that is. I can help you, but I don't think I can carry you all by myself." Mike's rambling was quickly cut off by a very blunt and not very flattering observation on his part. "Wow, you're green. Should I run and get the nurse?"

Bella moaned something that resembled a 'no' in response, not wanting to have a fuss made about the situation. Lying down and breathing deeply would fix everything, just as it had every other time this had happened to her.

"I'm fine Mike. Just keep you hand in your pocket." She warned in a weak voice. Although throwing up all over Mike Newton did have its upside, the whole nastiness of the actual act did not appeal to Bella.

As Bella should have known when the small signs for the horrible incident had revealed themselves, it was bound to get worse.

"Bella?" That impossibly beautiful and horribly familiar voice filled her ears.

_This cannot be happening._

"Bella?" The voice's musical quality did not hide the fact that it was full of concern. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine." Mike said rather stiffly, he was obviously not overly pleased with the new addition to their little soiree. "I was taking her to the nurse's office but she wouldn't go any further. I think maybe she's fainted." He admitted the last of it grudgingly and defensively, probably thinking it was abnormal that Bella had not immediately bounced back to normal health as soon as his overly friendly hands had touched her.

"Bella, can you hear me? Are you alright?"

She didn't even bother with answering the questions. Answering the latter implicitly answered the former and it was obvious just how well she was. "Go away." She moaned, not willing to open her mouth completely. She was too frightened she would somehow increase how horribly humiliating this situation was for her.

It was one thing to be around Edward Cullen when she was feeling perfectly alert and on guard, it was quite another while only semiconscious and liable to say anything he asked of her. But since Bella was in no position – ever, really – to fight his superhuman strength or speed, she didn't exactly have a choice.

Edward chuckled at her response before scooping her quickly and easily into his arms. An indignant "hey" escaped Mike as Edward started to walk away, just as Bella's hands flew out for purchase. Her left wound itself into his shirt and the right gripped his wrist tightly. The sudden removal of solid ground had made her reach out for anything she could hold onto.

Bella only let herself groan quietly with her jaw locked, for fear she would throw up on the gorgeous man holding her. The swaying motion of him carrying her was not helping her queasiness either.

Edward looked down on Bella's pale face. She had always been pale, overly so for someone alive and well, but now she had a color that almost matched his. It was disturbing and distressing, but, even so, Edward could not help but marvel at the human before him. She was so warm and soft, beautiful and luscious. It made the large part of him that wanted to sweep her away and claim her as his own claw incessantly to be freed.

The sudden change in air temperature and breathless female voice saying "oh my!" were the only clues to Bella that they had moved inside. Seeing as Edward was holding up all her weight by his arms, she wasn't quite sure how he had even opened the door. But another female "oh my!" cut off the mental cycle of the many questions Bella had in regards to Edward Cullen and his odd or inhuman capabilities.

"They're blood typing in Biology today. She felt faint." Edward spoke to the nurse before she could get over her surprise at his and Bella's – how he liked that pairing – entrance.

The nurse's face flashed understanding before she pressed her lips together to keep in a small laugh. "There's always someone."

Edward deposited Bella on the sickbed, stepping away quickly so the nurse could tend to the girl. The nurse's office was not a large room but was capable of holding four or five people comfortably – more or less.

"Does this happen often, dear?" The nurse asked Bella, using her sweet and understanding -- not quite condescending – tone.

"Sometimes." Bella murmured, sounding and feeling slightly embarrassed at the admission.

Edward stifled a laugh. He was suddenly very curious and amused. Bella fainted at the sight of blood, and not even her own blood. What would she think if she were to figure out what he was, what would she ever think about him. He _consumed_ blood, it was the only way for him to survive. But what would she think? Would she run away screaming? A small part that was wishing for nothing but her safety hoped for that. Hoped that she would run far away from him. But a larger part was selfish. It wanted her to find out and to not care, or at least accept it. It wanted her to see that he was _trying_ not to be the monster he was by living off of animals rather than humans.

But that train of thought brought up the horrible question that had been nagging him for weeks. _Did_ she know what he and his family were? She associated with another vampire, he knew that. But he didn't know if _she_ knew. And that wasn't exactly a question he could ask without revealing his secret. 'Hey, do you happen to know what I am?', not a very good start to a conversation if her answer was 'no'.

Sighing, Edward turned his attention back the girl that filled his thoughts. His perfect memory told him that the nurse had just stepped out to retrieve Bella an ice pack. How convenient being able to recall a conversation one was not even paying attention to, was sometimes.

"I'll bet Mike's mad." Bella said in a neutral tone. She felt slightly bad for the boy but at the same time wished that her lack of interest in him was as obvious to him as it was to most of the other classmates she knew and associated with.

"Yes. He was. He absolutely despises me." Edward said in an upbeat tone. It was entirely too optimistic for Bella in the condition she was in.

"You were right about the whole ditching thing. It _is_ healthy."

Edward chuckled, feeling a little _too_ thrilled that Bella had remembered their conversation. "Yes. I was worried about you for a moment. You were so _pale_. I had thought Mike had killed you and was dragging your body away to dispose of the evidence. Honestly, I've seen corpses with better color."

An image of her dead mother and step-father flashed behind Bella's eyes, forcing her to open them and take in her surroundings to clear it away. "So have I." Her voice was still quiet but had an edge something dark to it.

Before Edward could reply or comment, the nurse returned to the room with the promised cold compress. Bella sat up on the bed, taking the icepack in her hand. She felt a lot better, almost normal. The ringing had lowered its volume to just background noise and even with the sudden jolt of moving upright, the walls and ceiling had stayed in their proper places. Sliding off the bed and handing the icepack back to the nurse, Bella smile sweetly. "Thanks, but I think I'm okay now. I always just need to lie down and let things calm down for a bit."

The nurse looked about ready to argue but the door opening once again interrupted her. Mike Newton staggered into the room only partly supporting a very weak looking Lee Stephens.

"Oh! Another one!" The nurse cried. She obviously did not get many students into her office and two at a time was probably a great surprise.

Bella and Edward squished against the wall to give their classmates room to navigate their way to the cot.

"Uh Bella? You should probably leave." Edward said as soon as the two boys had passed them. Bella looked at him once, wondering what had caused his sudden admission, but turned, catching the door, and left the room almost at a run.

The faintness was already trying to make its way to the forefront of her mind, but she fought back, sitting in one of the chairs in the main office.

"Wow. You actually listened to me." Edward was very pleased with the fact.

"Yeah, that's 'cause I smelled blood." Bella wrinkled her nose while continuing to breathe deeply through her mouth.

"That's absurd. Humans can't smell blood."

"Well, maybe I'm not human. The smell is what makes me sick. It smells like rust, and salt. Not pleasant."

Edward stared at Bella for a few very long seconds. He knew his kind could smell blood, even if it wasn't in the same way that Bella described it. But the fact that she _could_ smell blood was just one of those other weird and unusual things about the human. Edward's musings were interrupted by Mike coming back out of the nurse's office with a disgruntled look on his face. The sour look automatically turned into a smile at the sight of Bella: leaned back in her chair, head against the wall, and eyes closed.

"Bella!" He sounded almost jubilant. "You look much better."

"Mm…just keep your hand in your pocket." Bella didn't even bother to look at Mike as she answered. She kept her eyes closed and breathed through her mouth. The most recent fit of fainting seemed to be passing.

"So are you going back to class then?" Mike sounded eager at the prospect.

Bella did open her eyes for that one, looking at Mike like he was a child. "Right. And turn right back around? Nah, thanks though." Edward couldn't help but appreciate Bella's sarcasm towards the annoying Golden Retriever-impressionist.

"Oh. Yeah. I guess. Are you still planning on coming to the beach with us tomorrow?" As Mike spoke, he moved his body so his back was to Edward, body language that told Edward this was an exclusive invitation that did not apply to him.

"I said I would didn't I? Yeah. Sorry I missed your whole planning thing at lunch. I kinda' lost track of time while I was talking with Edward. But yeah, I'll be there." Bella had agreed earlier in the week to attending the group outing to the beach. Charlie usually went fishing on the weekends and anything to get her out of the house and entertained – or at the very least, busy – was usually a good thing.

"Great! We're meeting at my parents store at about 10 AM and then we'll be carpooling from there." Mike tried to – but didn't succeed – slyly look over his shoulder at Edward, as if to see whether he had given out too much information.

"Okay, I'll be there." Bella did not want to be having this very dull conversation with Mike when she could do better things – like breathing deeply and making the floor feel like it's actually solid, rather than a moving obstacle course.

"Good. I guess I'll see you in PE then. Bye." Mike practically skipped out of the room.

Bella blinked after him stupidly for a second before putting her hands on her face in horror. "Gym…oh god." She moaned, not at all enjoying the prospect of adding in her queasiness to the class.

Edward was suddenly at her side, breathing into her ear. "I can take care of that if you want. Just sit back and look ill."

Bella started from his close proximity before nodding her head slightly and then tipping it back. From the especially pale look she had to the slight sheen of sweat on her face, Bella pulled off a very good "ill" look.

"Ms. Cope." Edward addressed the main office's secretary. "I was wondering if you could excuse Bella from her next class. It's gym and she doesn't exactly feel well. I actually think it might be a good idea if I drive her home, just to be sure she gets there safely." By the end of his sentence Edward was almost sure he could have gotten the poor woman to do anything he wanted. She was swooning.

"Yes, of course. Do _you_ need to be excused?"

"No, I don't think my teacher would mind. Thank you again." Edward gave her a dazzling smile before turning back to Bella. She was looking at him through her eyelashes, entertained by his display of hypnotizing skills.

"Should I carry you again?" His tone was innocent but his expression was sarcastic. Bella immediately hopped out of her chair, scowling at him slightly, before heading out the door.

"No. Thank you though." Bella kept her voice polite seeing as the secretary was openly eyeing the pair them. Bella's thoughts went back to Mike and his obvious body language, excluding Edward from both their conversation and the invitation. "So are you going tomorrow? To the beach?" Although Bella did not want to encourage any sort of relationship with him, she felt that happening to be in the same group for a day at the beach would be innocent enough. She knew it was a poor excuse, but at the moment her desire to spend time with Edward was overriding her logic.

Edward already had plans to go hunting with his brothers, but the prospect of spending more time with Bella was a little too appealing. The only problem was that most of the local 'beaches' were not welcoming to him. "Where are you all going?"

"Over to the La Push Reservation. To First Beach." Bella did not miss the slight scowl that formed from Edward's beautiful features before he turned it into an innocent and polite smile.

"No, I'm actually going hiking with weekend with Emmett and Jasper. Besides, I think if we were to push Mike anymore this week he may just snap." Edward knew for a fact that Mike was overly obsessed with Bella and was oblivious to her brush offs of his flirting attempts. Poor fellow.

"I see. Alright then." Bella kept herself calm and cool, not allowing Edward to see her disappointment. As they entered the parking lot Bella headed towards her truck, only to be tugged back by Edward.

"And where might you be going?" His tone was playful but had an edge to it.

Bella looked at him blankly. "Home. Well, my truck first, and then home."

"You expect me to let you drive in that condition? I said I'd get you safely home!" Edward was indignant.

"What condition? I'm perfectly able to drive. Would you let – gah!" Bella stumbled slightly as Edward stalked towards his car, never loosening his grip on her jacket, therefore, dragging her with him.

Edward only released hold of Bella when she was standing in front of his passenger door – well standing wasn't quite the right term; she actually tripped and _ran_ _into_ the side of his car and then leaned against it. He winced when he heard the slight thud of her delicate body impacting with his Volvo. Bella only huffed.

"This is completely unnecessary! Besides! What about my truck?!" Bella said, while at the same time eyeing the distance between her and her truck. The likelihood of making it there before he caught her did not look good.

"Get in. It's unlocked. I'll have Alice drop it off after school. And I'd just drag you back." Edward stated as he climbed into his own seat. He had seen her calculating gaze and knew it meant she wanted to make a break for it.

Huffing once again, Bella opened the car's door and slid in.

...

**A/N:** Don't worry, I won't skip over the whole carride scene, that's just what next chapter is. :)


	18. Expectations and Imagination

**A/N:** James is in the chapter! Can I hear a whoot? I'm sorry that the dialogue isn't all that original, but you know...it works...haha. Hope you enjoy! READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Eighteen: Expectations and Imagination**

Bella stayed quiet as Edward fiddled with the various controls in his car, turning the heat up and the volume of his music down. He was nervous. Just like at lunch, Edward had successfully gotten Bella alone with him but he had no idea what to talk about.

Not knowing what to say but feeling stupid for keeping silent, Edward pulled out of his parking space and onto the main road. It wasn't a long drive to Bella's house and his excessive speed made that trip even shorter. The opportunity to talk was slipping away, but still Edward could not think of anything but awkward half-hearted attempts at small talk. He wanted to bash his head on the steering wheel – not that it would do any good.

Finally Bella took away his need to make conversation. A new song started playing from one of him many mixed CDs and she recognized it. "_You_ listen to classical?" Bella asked him, surprised that he would. She just didn't see him as that sort of person, but then suddenly she did. He wasn't a normal high school male. In fact he wasn't even _normal_ in any sense of the word. Of course he would listen to classical music, read poetry, hell, he probably even played the piano. Studying him a little more closely, Bella could definitely see him as the romantic type of person, albeit a freakishly strong, and fast, romantic.

"You know this?" Edward asked, just as surprised that she recognized the soothing notes coming from his cars stereo. He knew that Bella was different. But that didn't lessen the shock when she said or did something unexpected.

"Yeah. My mom used to play classical music around the house, I just know the ones I like." Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, remembering those times and feeling the full weight of her loss. Bella locked her jaw in a determination not to break down. She had kept everything inside and locked up for so long, not wanting to hurt her father with her own grief. She would _not_ let it out now.

Edward watched Bella. Several different emotions flicked across her face after her statement. It was obvious that she missed her mother very much. He wanted to ask her, to understand better, but Edward was scared it would push her too much. He sighed, knowing there was only one way to find out.

"Would you tell me about your mother?" Edward's voice was so gentle and concerned that Bella found she could.

"We looked a lot alike. Though she was much prettier than I am. I have Charlie's genes and they kind of smoothed some of the nicer lines that my mom would have passed on to me." Bella shrugged slightly, knowing there was no point in worrying about things she could not control. "She was almost the complete opposite of me. Outgoing, eccentric, brave, unpredictable, irresponsible. It made her almost like a child." She laughed lightly, remembering different situations where she felt like the mother-daughter roles had been given out to the wrong people. "She changed her mind too often, jumping from hobby to hobby. Most of her cooking could only be called experimental, possibly lethal. But she was compassionate and loving, always there and worried for you. She was my best friend." Her eyes sad and a small smiling on her lips, Bella looked up at Edward. She wondered why she had told him as much as she had, but it just felt right. Like she could talk about it and nothing bad would happen. The feeling she always had when her stalker friend was around and watching was not there, so Bella felt that she could open up slightly. Actually, that would be lying. Bella was opening up whether she wanted to or not. Edward did strange things to her.

Stunned, Edward watched as Bella relayed all the information about her mother to him. He could not imagine anyone being more beautiful than Bella, but understood that a lot of people did not see themselves clearly. The way that Bella talked about her mother's characteristics made Edward understand that Bella saw her mother as everything she wasn't and everything that was better. Bella did not hold herself in high esteem.

Edward realized distantly that he had stopped, in front of Bella's house, but neither of them seemed to really want to part. She was speaking with him, really telling him about herself, and all he could do was drink it in.

"How old are you Bella?" She looked like he had caught her off guard a bit with the question, but Edward was genuinely curious. Bella did not speak or think – not that he could ever really know for sure – like other youths of that day and age. She did look young, but it was possible that she was nineteen, a student held behind a year or two for some reason or another.

"Seventeen. You?" Bella responded, a bit stiffly from her shock, confusion, and insult. To her, Edward seemed to be thinking hard about something, contemplating. Feeling that her explanations of her mother were nothing that would cause such deep thought, Bella bristled slightly, feeling that she had just poured some of her heart out to Edward and he hadn't paid it any mind.

"I'm seventeen as well. It's just, you don't really seem seventeen…the way you talk, the way you _think_, it suggests someone of a much older age."

"Age has nothing to do with maturity Edward. Surely you've learned at least that much. Although, living with my mother, that fact was probably more obvious to me than others. And, the way I _think_? How on earth would you know that?"

Edward waved a hand dismissively, feeling vaguely frustrated that she had hit a sore spot in him she didn't even know existed. "It's the way you respond to things, the way you act. You're nothing like the youth of today." His voice sounded almost awed by the fact, Bella found it slightly amusing.

She nodded absentmindedly, looking at him directly in the eyes. "Mm…I've heard. You don't seem much like the youth of this day and age either."

Edward made a face, not liking being compared to the frivolous teenagers that ran around thinking nothing of others.

Something in her voice made him jump on her first statement. "You've heard? By who? Do you normally have other people tell you you're not a normal teenager?"

Bella laughed shortly, wondering just how abnormal she was compared to Edward. "No, I don't. My mother used to say things about it though. I don't think she quite realized she was the cause, but she used to say that I had been born in my thirties and only got older every year." She sighed heavily, her eyebrows pulling together sadly. "Someone had to be the adult in the house, and she never was."

"Oh." Was all Edward could get out. Bella had basically raised herself, having to deal with an irresponsible, child-like mother. He didn't know what to say.

She looked at him quickly, feeling as though she had probably played her mother into a bad guy. "Don't get me wrong though. I love…loved Renee. Being immature was what made her, her." That sad smile was back. "So, tell me about your family." Bella said in an attempt to distract herself from her own inner turmoil.

Edward was immediately on guard, as he was whenever he had to talk about them, but a part of his mind wondered if he really needed to be. It was that same part that wondered if she knew what he truly was. "What do you want to know?" He asked cautiously, not wanted to give her the idea he would answer _anything_.

"The Cullens adopted you?"

"Yes."

"And the rest of your 'siblings'?"

"Yes. Rosalie and Jasper are twins, while Emmett, Alice, and I were adopted separately. But I'm sure you already know that." Edward smiled at Bella, knowing full well that Jessica Stanley, the gossip queen herself, had taken it upon herself to let Bella know all about how strange the Cullens were.

"Yes, I did. What happened to your parents? If you don't mind me asking." Her eyes and voice were hesitant.

"They died a long time ago." Upon seeing her saddened eyes and knowing that she must be empathizing with pain he no longer felt, he added on. "I don't really remember them though. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for as long as I can remember."

Bella smiled sadly. "You love them very much." It was a statement, not a question, and the sureness with which she said it surprised Edward slightly.

"Yes. I don't know how my life would be without them. I'm very grateful to them." He spoke with complete earnestness, meaning every word.

"Mm…" Bella sighed, looking at the clock. The school would be letting out soon, and Edward not being there to pick up the rest of the Cullens would probably be bad. "It's late. You should go, or you'll keep them waiting."

Edward looked at the clock too, surprised at just how fast the time had gone. "Yes, I guess I better." Bella nodded once in acknowledgement before turning to open her door. Before she could step out, however, Edward called her back. "Bella? Can you do me a favor?"

She turned back to him, wide-eyed and curious. "Depends what that favor entails."

Edward smiled at her deliberate dodge of an open-ended promise. "Try to be careful this weekend." When she gave him a confused and questioning look, he elaborated. "You seem to find your way into accidents. Just try not to fall into the ocean tomorrow, or get run over…or impale yourself on a tree branch."

Surprising him, Bella laughed loudly at that. He was more right than he even knew. Glancing down at the fingers that had only a few weeks prior been freed from their splints, Bella turned back to Edward, a smile on her face. "I'll try. Though I don't guarantee anything." Without anything else, she stepped out of the car and turned around to face him. "Goodbye Edward, I see you next week."

Edward barely had said his farewell before she closed the door gently and walked quickly to the front porch. What an odd girl she was.

-x-

Bella sat in her room, trying to go over an essay she had written more than a week in advance – concentrating proved to be difficult. It had felt nice to be able to connect with Edward in the way she had, and it also felt nice to not have the feeling that her stalker was breathing down her neck all the time.

She had thought that she had been listening carefully, waiting for that familiar roar of an engine to find her ears, but when she went down to fix dinner and her truck was parked outside, Bella supposed she had been distracted. A sudden and improbably image formed in her head of the little pixie-like Alice holding her truck over her head and literally "dropping it off" in front of her house. Smiling at her own bizarre imagination, Bella set off to find her ingredients.

-x-

James stood, looking down at Bella's prone, sleeping form, shaking in outrage. He had left the day prior, wanting to finally get some real prey. It had been weeks since he had allowed himself to leave far enough away to feed on a human, and he had been tired of the weaker tasting blood of animals.

But then _this_ happens! He left for _one day_ and when he comes back she smells of another vampire. And not just _any_ vampire. It was the one that had tried to lure her away on her first day of school.

Admittedly, it had been amusing to watch her turn him down so thoroughly that day, James had still been furious over the matter. James had made sure that his scent clung to every article of clothing she had, claiming her as his. But that young vampire had still almost stolen his prey.

Now, after coming back from his day away, James discovered that that same vampire had been to the house. Had climbed into the tree outside, presumably to watch Bella. He hadn't entered the room, that much James could be thankful for, but that did not make the threat any less.

To top things off, the clothes Bella had worn that day smelled of him. As though he had touched her, spent time with her. The mere thought of it made James see red. He was furious that during his absence another vampire had swooped in and could have possibly taken his prey. But he was also a little surprised that he hadn't. That James had his little human to come back to.

Frustrated about his oversight and confused about the reason behind his own outrage, James sat down on the floor beneath the window. He knew he would not be able to leave Bella alone again. It was too dangerous.

...

**A/N:** James is only in it for a little bit, but don't worry, his moment is coming...eventually...


	19. Truth in Legends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Nineteen: Truth in Legends**

After weeks of Mike mentioning a trip to the beach, Bella had finally caved. If for no other reason than to get him to shut up about it, Bella had agreed to join the group going to First Beach in La Push, the Reservation. A small part of her remembered being brought there as a child with her dad, and Bella was curious to find out if she would remember any landmarks.

It was Saturday morning and Bella was heading to the Newton's Outdoor store to meet the group that was going. They planned to carpool in Mike's parent's suburban and someone else's large vehicle – not particularly eco-friendly, but it would get them there.

Hopping out of her truck, Bella was greeted by an overly friendly Mike, a typically chatty Jessica, a shy but smiling Angela, and a glaring Lauren. Ever since Bella had almost died, Lauren had seemed to find her existence more offensive than usual. Bella wasn't quite sure whether it was that Lauren was envious of the unwanted attention she was receiving or if Lauren actually had a desire to see Bella dead. Although mildly curious, Bella didn't care enough to ask.

Mike immediately offered that she carpool with him, which Bella agreed to, considering she didn't even know the other boy driving. Hooking an arm through Angela's, Bella made sure seating arrangements did not place her next to Mike. He had been more forward with what appeared to be his crush on her, and Bella wanted to quickly squash said feelings. She might not particularly care what went on with _her_ life but she did have heart enough to not want others being injured, even if only emotionally, because of her. Plus, even Bella had her standards.

-x-

The majority of the beaches in the Northwest are much different than one would expect. Rather than having sand and beautiful aqua colored water, Washington has rocky beaches with deep blue water. These rocks are, of course, not beneficial to one's balance when walking, so Bella had to make an effort to stay upright.

After unloading some coolers and a radio someone had thought to bring, some of the boys ran off to collect driftwood for a mini bonfire. Bella found herself sitting on a rather large log, facing the ocean and watching its rather violent churning. Although it wasn't raining yet, Bella could tell from the waves and the color of the sky that it wouldn't stay that way long.

A light flickered from behind her, snapping Bella out of her thoughts. Turning around, she noticed that the boys had returned and had already managed to get a small fire going.

As her eyes flickered around the group, Bella took note another group heading their way. It looked like six of the young men from the Reservation seeing what the teens from Forks were up to. All had dark hair and eyes, and a deep russet color of skin.

Everyone greeted them happily, it became apparent that this was a normal occurrence when coming to First Beach. The tallest of the Reservation boys – which it turned out they were – looked at least twenty and the only adult of the group. He smiled warmly and introduced himself and his comrades.

"My name is Sam. This here is Paul, Embry, Quil, Nathan, and Jacob." He pointed out each boy in turn. All looked between about 14 and 16.

The one named Jacob met Bella's eyes for a second before she turned back to Sam. The older boy appeared to be studying Bella with a look of displeasure on his face. Feeling slightly self-conscious, she turned back to Mike, who was introducing the Forks teens in turn. When he reached Bella's name, both Sam and Jacob's eyebrows rose infinitesimally.

Following the introductions, the Reservation boys spread out among the original group, chatting and being friendly. Sam was the only one to remain standing; he appeared slightly stiff as he looked back towards the woods. Bella wondered briefly whether he could feel the presence of her stalker there as she could, but quickly dismissed the theory when Jacob sat down on the log next to her.

Sticking his hand out with a friendly smile, Jacob introduced himself again. "Hi, I'm Jacob Black. You're Chief Swan's daughter aren't you?"

Bella smiled despite being slightly annoyed at being known as 'Chief Swan's Daughter'. She had to keep up being diplomatic, to everyone…well, everyone except her one exception: Edward Cullen. "Yes I guess I am. Do I know you? You seemed to recognize me when Mike said my name."

Jake only looked slightly disappointed before continuing. "Yeah, well, only kinda'. I'm Billy Black's son." When Bella didn't gasp and squeal in recognition he continued. "Billy is one of Charlie's friends and fishing buddies. You used to go and spend time with my sisters, Rachel and Rebecca."

Something clicked at the mentioning of Jacob's sister's names. Bella had a very brief and hazy flashback of standing near the edge of the water with two girls as they all remained quiet, too shy to really get along. Her smile grew, realizing there were actual ties to her past around Forks besides just her father.

"Yeah…I remember Rachel and Rebecca, but I don't remember you though. Sorry." Jacob quickly shook his head, keeping his smile.

"Don't worry about it, I'm the baby of the family and didn't go on the fishing trips. You never met me."

"Oh, I see." Bella hadn't been particularly socially gifted even before coming to Forks, so starting and keeping a conversation by herself was almost an impossible task. Glancing around again, she noticed that Sam was headed towards the thicket of woods she believed held her stalker friend. Momentarily worried for his safety, Bella stood up, preparing to call or run after him, but she was stopped by Jacob's hand grabbing her arm.

"What's up? Am I boring you?" His voice gave away a small amount of the worry he was feeling. Jacob had never really seen a girl like Bella Swan before. She was beautiful and seemed kind and innocent. As soon as she had greeted him back, Jacob had been quite taken with her, even though she didn't seem to be responding to him quite as well as he would have hoped. Genuinely worried that he wasn't being interesting enough, Jacob quickly racked his brains for funny or interesting stories he could tell her. A light switch clicked when he followed her gaze towards the woods.

"No, not really. Sorry. It's just I saw Sam walking away and was going to see where he was going." Bella looked down at Jacob as she spoke, not really enjoying the fact she was losing sight of Sam, but not wanting to be completely rude either.

Jacob looked from her face back to where she had been looking, momentarily confused. "Sam? What do you mean Sam? He's not there."

Bella's eyes snapped away from Jake's face and back up to the tree line where she had last seen him. He hadn't been walking fast enough to reach it during the brief moment she had taken her eyes off him, but she couldn't see him anywhere around in the immediate area. Slightly befuddled, Bella sat back down on the log.

"I thought I saw him heading towards the woods. I don't know, maybe it was my imagination." Bella shook her head slightly, trying to picture what she had seen and wondered whether her stalker really was just a figment of her imagination if she was starting to have other hallucinations. Jacob once again snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Oh. I see. Do you know about the legends about those woods?" He knew his family legends from childhood, having been told them over and over, and he knew he wasn't really supposed to tell others, but with Sam not being in sight and the look of interest that was now in Bella's eyes, he could care less. They were only old legends anyway.

Bella shook her head, slightly intrigued. She had been reading more than she normally would have to distract herself from other thoughts and anything to distract herself was welcome. Turning slightly more towards Jacob in an attempt to encourage him, Bella spoke softly, almost alluringly. "No. I haven't. Do _you_ know any you could tell me?" Bella was slightly shocked when she noticed the slightly glazed look Jacob's eyes got as a result of her tone. It had apparently worked better than she thought.

"Yeah." His voice cracked slightly in his excitement, so before continuing, Jacob cleared his throat and began his story in a deeper voice, trying to sound older and more mature than he really was. "I could tell you a few. Would you like to hear them?"

Bella smiled better for him than she had since her arrival to Forks, stunning him into speechlessness for a second. "Of course."

Jacob cleared his throat again, blinking a few times before looking out towards the woods as though he was thinking where to start. Finally, after a few moments, he opened his mouth and began.

"First you need to know that it is believed that my tribe descended from wolves. And that, in a way, we are still one with the wolves, they are our brothers."

Bella was genuinely interested in what his story would be. But she could not contain the curiosity that had her asking questions. "One with the wolves? So, you're supposed to be part wolf?" Although there was a small disbelieving smile on her face, Bella was really listening to the story, believing it held more truth than Jacob realized.

The serious expression on Jake's face turned into one of amusement. A goofy smile spread across his face before he answered, telling Bella exactly how much he believed the legends he was telling. "Yeah. I guess. I don't think I really said it right. It's not like I'm a descendent of one of the wolves roaming around in the hills, it's more like our ancestors are believed to have possessed the capability to turn from man to wolf. I guess you'd call them werewolves."

"Werewolves…" Bella tasted the word as she thought of the possibility. She had already seen some strange things, but she knew that neither her stalker nor Edward Cullen were werewolves. They _were_ both ridiculously strong, but they had never morphed into anything else. Putting the idea away somewhere in her mind to think about later, Bella turned her attention back to Jacob Black, who had returned back to his serious face.

"Yes. Well, you see, werewolves have a natural enemy. Something my people called the cold ones. It's believed that years ago, during my great-grandfather's time, some of the men in my tribe had carried the burden and gift of being able to phase into wolves. They did not hurt people or even other animals. They were guardians of sorts, protecting our village from the cold ones who would come into the area.

"It's believed that a rather large group of cold ones came into the area but convinced the pack that they meant no harm to the humans and only wanted to live in peace."

Something was confusing Bella slightly, she didn't understand what Jacob meant by 'the cold ones'. "What _are_ the cold ones? I mean, why would they be a danger to the people?"

"They're supposed to be blood drinkers. Vampires." Bella's eyebrows shot up slightly, taking the term in and rolling the idea over.

"If the group were vampires then how did they pose no threat to the humans? I mean, don't they kill humans for their blood?" A brief flash of James biting into her mother's neck appeared in Bella's mind before she was able to focus back on Jacob's face and words.

"Well, that was the difference this coven held from the other cold ones. Rather than drink human blood, they drank the blood of animals." He explained.

"Hm…." Bella thought of the idea and a sudden flash of both Edward and James' face appeared in her mind's eyes. She shook her head slightly, to clear her thoughts. "Well then, what was the treaty if they wouldn't hurt humans?"

"That was part of it. The cold ones agreed to stay off Quileute land, and not bite or kill any humans. The pack agreed to leave them alone, not tell anyone about them, and stay off their land as well."

"Well that sounds fair." Looking up and around again she saw Sam in a different change of clothes, standing by the line of trees, looking sort of like a guard. Jacob followed her gaze and then looked down smiling sheepishly. Bella looked back at him and then at Sam, an idea striking her.

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone that were you?"

Jacob's eyes widened slightly at her perceptiveness before raising his eyebrows slightly. "What do you mean?" He tried to feign ignorance and innocence.

"Well, it's just that when you looked at Sam you looked kind of guilty. I figured it was about this."

He surveyed her for a good minute, before answering. "No. You're right. Some of the people in my tribe believe in the legends as truth. Sam and my father are two such people and by telling you about it, I've broken the treaty. Well, I would have broken the treaty if it was real."

Bella absorbed the knowledge, watching Sam. He really did look like a guardian, standing over by the woods. A brief click happened in her head as she took in the fact that she no longer felt watched by her stalker friend. Could Sam believe in the legends because they were in fact true? And if they were true, could it be possible that some of the Quileute's today were werewolves? A brief image of Sam chasing after James flashed in Bella's head. The term vampire fit James most definitely, and seeing the similarities between him and Edward, she wondered whether he might not be one too.

Bella turned back to Jacob, trying to make him feel a little less guilty for entertaining her and giving her priceless information. "Well, even if you had broken the treaty, what's it matter? It's not like the same group of vampires could be living in the area. I mean, don't you think people in town would notice if a group of people never left and stayed alive for such a long time? Well, that is if vampires don't age like Hollywood seems to believe." She got a very brief laugh from him before Jacob turned to look at Sam again.

"Yeah, I guess. But that's the thing." He smiled shyly. "My dad seems to think the same coven of vampires have come back again. That they didn't stay for long all those years ago, but they're back in the area."

"Oh, huh. Well don't you think people would notice a group of vampires moving into their town?" She smiled slyly, trying to ask her questions without seeming too interested. Bella, actually, was _very_ interested in who Billy Black believed was a group of vampires.

"Yeah. I guess. It's just he's always so rude and antagonistic to Dr. Cullen." Bella froze in place, but Jacob was too deep in memories to notice. "He always calls them a group of bloodsuckers. I feel bad for them. I mean, sure the legends say that it was a group that called themselves Cullen and they had a tall blonde leader, but really. You don't think that after over sixty years another family of Cullens could show up? Honestly, sometimes I think my father is losing it."

Bella's suspicions had just been confirmed by the "crazy ideas" of Billy Black. She didn't know the specifics of what being a vampire meant, and she highly doubted that Hollywood got much of it right, but in one instant she was almost completely positive that both her stalker and the Cullen family were vampires.

Opening her mouth to speak, Bella stopped as something wet hit her face. Looking up, she noticed that the grey clouds she had noticed earlier looked much angrier. The sound of engine's being started made her spring from her seat. Although it wasn't that far from Forks, Bella didn't want to be abandoned by the group she had come with.

"Hey, thanks for chatting with me Jake. I really enjoyed it and it gave me a lot to think about, but I better book it before they leave me behind." She smiled again before turning and running to the two large vehicles her group had come in.

"Bye Bella." Jacob called after her. He definitely wouldn't have minded in the least if she had been left there.

-x-

Bella did not linger with the group once they got back to the Newton's store. She had a lot on her mind and wanted to get home to quickly distract herself.

One of the few forms of entertainment Bella enjoyed was music. To accommodate that, the last time she had gone shopping she had bought herself a CD player and a select few CDs. One said CD, though it reminded her of her mom, was one her step father Phil had given her but she had never got around to listening to it. That was the CD she grabbed, because it was new and concentrating on learning the words and beats to the songs would help.

Too much information all at once could cause a sensory overload that Bella wanted to avoid. She had learned that the night her mother died and did not expect that Charlie would enjoy her going comatose on him for a day or two. That's why, when Bella got home from La Push, she popped in the rock CD and laid on her bed, listening to the hard to understand words and many beats.

Falling asleep to the music left Bella waking up to a fully lit room and a very sore neck. She rolled onto her side, still feeling exhausted and looked at the clock. It was close to midnight, so Bella took off her headphones, setting the CD player on her desk, before readying herself for bed and then hopping in it. It didn't take long to fall back asleep.

-x-

James stood watching over Bella. She was asleep after her day at the beach. He had been quite surprised by one of the local boys. Apparently the myths he had heard of from other vampires had some truth to them.

While he had been watching Bella from the trees a man started heading his direction. He was moving entirely too quickly for a human and smelled absolutely awful. Feeling the danger of what their encounter would mean, James decided to leave. Bella was safe among her friends and peers and those other vampires were no where in sight.

Looking behind him as he ran, James discovered that he was being chased by a large Wolf. That man had in fact been a werewolf and apparently wanted to get rid of him. Unfortunately for the stupid mutt, James was much too smart and old to be caught by such an inexperienced pup.

After running around in several circles and then using the trees to launch himself greater distances, James found a small river in the mountains. He ran up the river, keeping his scent from touching anything on the ground, until he knew his pursuer was gone. It didn't take long but James felt no desire to return to his pervious spot and have to do it over again. Instead, James went back to the forest outside the Swan's household to wait for her to get back home.

...

**A/N:** For all those Jacob fans, I'm sorry. I expect that this will be the last we see of him in my story. There's already enough drama without bringing in the poor broken heart of a 15 year old, right? Right! More James next chapter!


	20. Realizations

**A/N:** Okay...so this one is really short compared to what I've written recently, but it just had to stop there in order for the story to flow. I'm sorry! But there's more James and I hope you enjoy it anyway! READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty: Realizations**

Over the past few weeks, James had realized that Bella muttered in her sleep. Mostly it was odd and random phrases but sometimes she would dream about her mother, or her "stalker friend". An odd sense of possessiveness would fill him whenever she said that, because he knew she was talking about him. He just wished he could know what it was she was dreaming about.

He had come to enjoy listening to and watching her while she slept. It gave him an idea as to how affected she was by his little schemes, because she was no longer hiding behind her mask of indifference. But mostly she spoke nonsense and that was the reason he never stayed long. It became difficult to stay in such a closed space with her scent for long periods of time, so he limited himself.

This night was no different. After muttering something about spoons that chase you, Bella was silent for quite some time. Thinking she was done speaking, James walked over to her desk, picking up the CD player that lay there. He intended to listen to the disc inside that she had spent a long time listening to just hours before but a word made him stop moving.

Bella rolled over slightly, so her muttering was muffled by her pillow slightly, but James heard it loud and clear.

"Edward." Bella said with a sigh.

The CD player that had been in James' hand was immediately dust at his feet. Edward was the name of the vampire that had tried to kill Bella on her first day, had saved her from death not too long after that, and kept trying to talk to her. Edward was someone that Bella should remain unassociated with.

A low growl formed in James' chest at the thought of Bella being with Edward. He didn't quite understand the level of possessiveness and jealousy at the idea but one thought remained in his mind.

_She's mine._

James leapt from her window, landing in a catlike crouch. He wanted to hurt him, Edward, the man _his_ human was dreaming about. She had said his name with such longing, and another emotion he couldn't place. He wanted to cause Edward pain.

Running in the forest, James made his way until he could find the scents of the other vampires. There were more than he had seen. Seven of them.

James stopped, contemplating with some actual logic. Running to where he was had happened on pure impulse and fury. Now that he was there, he needed to weigh his choice. Did he really think he could run into the territory of seven vampires to kill or maim one of them and come back out alive? Highly unlikely. Why had he even run here? Why was it that he wanted to hurt this vampire? Because a simple human girl had said his name in her sleep? It didn't make any sense.

James could not figure out the meaning behind his emotions. He turned away, running back to the woods outside Bella's house.

-x-

Waking up, Bella remembered the revelation she had come to the day before. Edward Cullen was a vampire. So was the rest of his family and her stalker. The Cullens did not drink human blood though. They chose to exist by drinking animal blood and live amongst humans, but James drank human blood. She was almost positive that was the reason behind the color difference of their eyes.

Bella continued her train of thoughts as she readied herself for the weekend day. She wanted to get away, go somewhere to think by herself and decided upon the forest. There was a path that led into it just behind the house and as long as she remained on the path, she wouldn't have to worry about getting lost.

Stepping outside the house, Bella was met with cool but tolerable air. It seemed uncharacteristically dry, though the cloud cover had not let up, so it made for a nice walk. Bella walked between two trees, noticing the feeling of being watched was very faint.

If it was true that both the Cullens and her stalker were vampires, Bella wondered whether they knew about each other, and if they did, whether the Cullens condoned James' behavior and actions. Guessing they wouldn't, considering they refused to kill humans themselves, Bella decided that the Cullens did not know about James. Or at least, they did not know what his intentions were.

_Speaking of James…_ Bella thought to herself as a small rustling sound came from her left. She turned in the direction, knowing she wouldn't be able to see anything, but sometimes Bella was kind enough to play along in his little games. Another crash came from her right, to which she turned, and then the crashes were quickly coming from all around her, almost immediately following each other. She had realized his capabilities of super-speed when Edward had saved her from the van and she realized they were the same thing, so the impossibility of him making all those noises did not seem so impossible anymore.

Bella stopped turning when the sounds got too fast to follow, for fear she would become disorientated and unable to remember which way she had come from. She settled for turning so she was facing the direction she needed to head in order to get back home. Taking a step in that direction, though she was unafraid, Bella did startle when James suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Oh!" Escaped from her lips. She was surprised to have him suddenly in her path, though at the same time she wasn't. "Hello." Her voice remained even as she greeted her stalker. His face showed his frustration.

And James was _quite_ frustrated. He had tried so many different things to scare this human girl, but nothing had. Not even making her believe she was surrounded and then appearing out of nowhere before her. She was surprised, of course, but not scared. He put on his darkest expression, hoping that after a month of living a relatively normal life, she might be scared by the threat of pain or death.

Instead of her heart rate picking up or her cowering in terror, Bella's heart evened out and she sighed, a slight smile playing across her lips. Even in his frustration, James had to admit to himself how beautiful this plain human girl looked, standing in front of him. He reached forward, slowly, unable to resist his urge to touch her.

Bella's eyes widened momentarily before her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. James' hand caressed the side of her face, he longed to do more, to hold her, love her. His face was soft until she jerked back, trying to remove herself from his touch. Angry at her show of reject, James shot his hand out to grab her wrist.

A loud snap broke the silence of their meeting. Bella blinked rapidly, looking at him as her eyes dilated in pain. James' immediately let go of her, horrified at what he had done. Bella collapsed in front of him, cradling her broken wrist, but not making a sound.

James was no longer there. She looked around and could feel nothing of him being there. Taking deep breaths to try and ease the pain as well as calm herself, Bella stood and headed back towards her house. She would now have to go to the hospital to get a cast. So much for not getting hurt that weekend.

-x-

James sat on a rock staring, wide-eyed, out across the forest below. He was more than shocked at what had occurred. Not the fact that he had broken her wrist, no, that should have been expected. Reaching out to grab her while he was angry would, of course, have resulted in him using too much force and her being injured.

No, what shocked him was his reaction to it. He was sickened with himself, realizing he had hurt her unintentionally. Sure he had hurt her before, not quite that bad, but he had done it. On purpose too. He hadn't enjoyed it, because he was frustrated with her lack of reaction, or at least that's what he had thought at the time.

Thinking back on it, James wondered whether it wasn't something else. He had been having strange urges to protect this human girl as of late, and maybe it was possible that he didn't _want _to hurt her anymore. Maybe, he hadn't enjoyed hurting her before because it had sickened him, just as it had moments before.

James was horrified at this idea because if it was true, then what did that mean? He had followed Bella all the way here in order to terrify her and kill her. In order to Enjoy the sweetest blood he had ever tasted. What if he no longer wanted to kill her, where did that leave him?

James sat in the mountains for days, pondering exactly what it was he _wanted_ to do.


	21. Lost

**A/N:** So...a few people have asked questions that I'm going to answer, if you already figured it out I'm sorry for being repetitive.

-Alice doesn't see James and Bella because she's not really looking over Bella's future. She only saw that first vision because it was concerning Edward's future. They have no real reason to be worried about Bella. The Cullens think that it's possible she just happens to know another vampire.

- No one was suspicious about Bella's injuries during James' "torture phase" because Bella is clumsy and her father still thinks of her as being as clumsy as she once was, so she just plays it up and made up stories about falling or tripping, etc.

- There are no secrets in the Cullen's household (well normally there aren't) so Carlisle's funny looks to Edward when Bella was in the hospital after almost getting squishied was because he had been told (by Edward) about how cold and indifferent Bella was, yet she was acting like a sweet innocent girl. He was surprised and confused. (okay...so no one really asked about this but I didn't really explain it and wanted you to understand...haha.)

- James isn't thinking about Victoria because he's not worried about her. He's so convinced that she will stay away to prevent him from getting mad at her that he's not worried. This is always how they work when he wants to 'hunt' someone specific. She leaves him alone and he goes back to her when he's done.

- Laurent just isn't in this story. Think of it as though Laurent would have run into James and Victoria had they not gone to Phoenix. But they went, so he's all alone out there somewhere.

Uh...I think that was it...I hope. If you have more questions please review and ask! I'd be happy to answer. ANYWAY! I hope you enjoy so...READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-one: Lost**

James had been weird. Everything about him had been weird.

Bella sat in her first class on Monday morning thinking about just how odd her stalker friend had been. His attitude, his actions, the way he looked even, was different.

After her not so brief trip to the emergency room on Saturday morning, Bella had spent the rest of the weekend trying to put together a mental list of vampire traits she had witnessed through either James or Edward, as well as considering what James' changes meant.

There had been softness in his eyes she had never seen before just before he had reached out to her. Bella had been expecting him to hit her – he had done it before in his bouts of physical torture, just hard enough to hurt and bruise, but no where that anyone would see. But he hadn't.

It had almost been a caress. If Bella didn't know that James wanted her dead, she would think it _was_ that, but it couldn't be. Not from him. Well, that's what she kept telling herself.

And then when she had pulled back away from him, confused and shocked from the gentleness of his action, he had gotten angry. He had done something a lot more like the angry evil vampire she knew him as.

He had broken her wrist.

But then when she had looked up at him, it was obvious that it had been an accident. In his anger James had forgotten his strength and snapped the fragile bone. The look of horror on his face told her that. It also, however, told her something else.

He didn't _want_ to hurt her.

But why? Why, after all this time and all this pain – physical and emotional – that he had inflicted upon her, would he decide that it was a bad thing to hurt her? And what did that mean to her secret hopes that he would kill her?

That was usually the point where her brain would make her stop thinking about it. Bella thought it was because she didn't have an answer, that it was just so bizarre she couldn't comprehend it, but a small part of her knew that she just didn't _want_ to. Bella did not want to face the implications of James' behavior.

Nor did she want face the implications of his eyes. When she had really looked at him it was strange. Bella had come to recognize him for his shockingly bright crimson eyes, but when she saw him on Saturday they had been an almost orangey color. It looked almost like a mix between his normal red and Edward's topaz.

That was another thing that she refused to think too hard about.

-x-

Jessica Stanley was chatting away at rapid speeds, just like normal, as Bella walked with her into the cafeteria. Bella had yet to see Edward Cullen that day, and when she noticed that the Cullen's normal table was empty, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

They had talked on Friday, quite a lot actually, and Bella had been – with a small part of her brain – looking forward to talking with him more. The majority of her mind was dedicated to keeping her distant and indifferent to everyone, that part was reprimanding the other part that was practically gleeful at the prospect.

Not really having a choice in the matter anymore – at least for that day – Bella sighed and made her way towards her normal lunch table.

After Mike had agreed to go with Jessica to the girl's choice dance the week prior, the girl would always fall back on that subject while talking. Bella was so used to hearing Jessica prattle on about different dress, makeup, and shoe decisions, that she didn't, at first, notice that a question had been directed toward her.

Jessica snapped her fingers in front of Bella's face, almost rudely, to get her attention. "Yo, did you hear me Bella?"

Bella looked blankly at Jessica for a moment while she searched in her mind as to whether she had actually heard the other girl's question. Yes, she had. Jessica had just asked whether Bella would like to join her and Angela in going to Port Angeles after school for dress shopping.

She wasn't going to the dance, but seeing as she had completed all the homework she had been assigned and getting out of Forks seemed like a wonderful prospect, Bella agreed. Criticizing Jessica in a subtle manner would just be a plus.

-x-

Edward was moping in his room.

It was sunny outside, therefore, he could not risk going out, unless he wanted to chance a human spotting him. That fact had always irritated him, but now that he understood his feeling for Bella, it only grated on him further.

She was currently at school, probably being harassed by that foul Mike Newton. Edward could tell that Bella did not care for Mike, but the fact that the little twerp still thought of Bella in very inappropriate ways caused more anger than Edward would have thought reasonable.

A reprimanding thought from Jasper stopped where that train of thoughts was going. Edward felt bad for his emotionally sensitive brother, considering his own emotions were bouncing around like crazy. Jasper must have the jitters.

After hours of staying in his room, Edward finally sighed in defeat. It wasn't long until school let out, and if he stayed in the shadows of the trees he could at least _see_ Bella that day.

Edward ignored the musical laughter of his favorite sister as he ran out the door. She had no doubt _seen_ his decision and was informing the family of his stalker-ish behavior.

Within seconds he was standing in the woods just outside the school. A familiar scent hit him, surprising Edward with how fresh and strong it was.

That vampire scent he could always smell coming from Bella was in the surrounding woods of the school. It was obvious to him that the vampire hadn't been there in a few days, but the thoroughness with which the area was coated in it suggested that the vampire spent a lot of time there. Probably while Bella attended classes.

Edward got a weird feeling regarding the scent. It was possible that the vampire was just particularly overprotective and followed Bella to school to watch over her, but it almost seemed stalker-ish. Kind of like how Edward was acting.

That sort of thinking only made Edward even more curious as to who that vampire was and what they meant to Bella. Perhaps he would eventually be able to ask her, but at the present time it was an impossibility. Just like he couldn't ask her whether she knew if he was a vampire, he couldn't ask her who the other vampire she knew was. If she didn't know about vampires it would be revealing everything.

Edward sighed, turning his attention back to the school. He let his mind and eyes search through the crowd of students heading to their cars, letting out an involuntary growl when he found her.

Tyler Crowley was thinking some very ungentlemanly things regarding Bella as she passed him. She was walking with Jessica Stanley and Angela Weber, looking only vaguely interested while the other two girls were talking animatedly. They were talking about dress shopping in Port Angeles.

Confused, Edward focused more on Jessica and Angela's minds. He quickly gathered that they were all – including Bella – going to Port Angeles. Suddenly paying a lot more attention, Edward wondered if Bella had changed her mind about going to the dance, and if she had who was it that she was going with.

He knew it was adding to his stalker persona and that it would probably be for nothing, but Edward wanted to follow Bella and her 'friends'. At least then he could know for sure that she would be safe – knowing Bella's tendency to attract accidents and trouble, it was possible that something may happen to her. Also, there was the possibility that he could pick out what he wanted to know from Jessica or Angela's brain. Yes. It was starting to sound like a very good idea.

Edward left before he ever got a good view of Bella, hurrying to get home and into his car. He would leave and get to Port Angeles before the girls, but he already knew where they were planning on shopping. Being there first would allow him to blend with the scenery.

For once, Edward was thankful that he didn't sleep. When he arrived home, he was already fully dressed and had his keys in his pockets. It made for avoiding his family's questioning or amused looks a lot easier. He could not, however, avoid those questions they hurled at him with their minds. He just ignored those.

-x-

Edward parked on the side of the shopping complex in hopes that the girls would never even see his Volvo.

Luck was with him.

Jessica Stanley parked her car in an open spot in the parking lot in front of the store. The girls all piled out the car, talking amongst themselves. Bella was actually enjoying the excursion to a certain degree. She had no prickly feeling telling her that her stalker friend was there and watching, which was always a bonus.

Bella provided her opinion and advice for the two girls that were actually shopping. Their conversation seemed to jump from topic to topic. Somehow they got to talking about the incident with Tyler's van and all the ridiculous things he did in order for Bella to forgive him – even though she already had.

They were laughing over the incident where Tyler had brought Bella a bouquet of daffodils. It would have been thoughtful and sweet, except for the fact that Bella was allergic and went into a horrible sneezing fit as soon as he thrust them into her face. Bella had been a bit more than a little irritated afterwards and told him in a cold and firm tone that she had already forgiven him and he needed to just get over it because she already had.

"That was so funny! It was like one of those romantic stints gone wrong! I can't believe he bugged you for so long. How ever did he get you to agree to go to prom with him?" Angela's sweet voice was broken as she continued to giggle throughout her questions.

"What?" Bella replied blankly, honestly not knowing what she meant about prom.

Both Jessica and Angela looked at Bella like she had hit her head. "Tyler has been telling everyone that you're going to prom together. Didn't you agree to it?"

Bella's jaw went slack. A sudden flashback of Tyler Crowley walking away from her truck's passenger side window saying 'well, there's always prom!' came into her head. She clamped her jaw shut, trying very hard to quash the urge to utter a long string of profanities. "No. I didn't." Bella replied through her still clenched teeth.

Jessica's eyes went wide at this new piece of gossip while Angela just looked sympathetic. "Oh wow. You know that's why Lauren has been so mean to you. She likes Tyler and thought you were trying to steal him away." It was slightly surprising that Jessica was actually _telling_ Bella something about other people rather than telling other people about Bella, but she made sure not to show it.

Pursing her lips, Bella thought for a moment. "Do you think if I ran him over tomorrow he would get over his delusion or whatever it is and just leave me alone?"

Angela fell into another fit of giggles while Jessica stared at Bella, amazed that she wasn't enjoying the spotlight she seemed to grab without any effort.

Not liking that the conversation soured her slightly good mood, Bella steered their talking back towards the other girl's dresses and what they would need to go with them.

-x-

Edward had been so caught up in his thoughts over the girl's conversation inside the department store that he almost didn't notice Jessica and Angela walking by his car. Shrinking further back into the shadows, Edward watched as the two girls retreated to the waterfront boardwalk. He almost didn't notice the most important thing.

Bella wasn't with them and he didn't know why.

-x-

After passing by the bookstore that Jessica had directed her to, Bella continued to walk towards downtown – or, at least, it was where she _hoped_ downtown was. Bella figured that in a town as large as Port Angeles there had to be at least one decent book store, and if there was one place to look, it would be in the shops that surely lined the streets of downtown.

She had known that Jessica wasn't very intellectual, but Bella had been honestly disappointed in the girl when the bookstore she had recommended was clearly only filled with 'knowing thy inner self' and 'interpreting dreams' books. Bella had only wanted to get _something_ out of her trip to Port Angeles. Just some books that would come in handy while she was trying to keep her mind off of her mother's death and her newfound interest in Edward Cullen. But now she had to find a _real_ bookstore all by herself.

Sighing slightly, Bella looked around her only to stop, absolutely confused.

Bella had thought she had been walking towards downtown, that she was getting into the busier and more populated parts of town. But, apparently, in her annoyance at Jessica, Bella had walked herself into a part of town she knew she shouldn't be in. She had now idea where she was.

Bella was lost.


	22. Rescued

**A/N:** New chapter! YAY!!

Okay, so Edward didn't notice Bella's broken wrist because he couldn't see it through the crowd and nobody was really thinking about it. But don't worry, he will.

I hope you enjoy my version of this scene...READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-two: Rescued**

Turning around the corner, Bella discovered yet another street lined with warehouses. She beat off the anxiety that was building in her as she realized she had been heading in the wrong direction to lead her back into town. Knowing that if she turned left at the next corner and kept heading in the direction, she would meet the flow of people, Bella felt slightly more reassured.

That was, until she passed a group of men heading the opposite direction on the other side of the road. There were five of them, all looking about college age, and all dressed in almost a rebellious stand against matching and nice clothes. Stains and rips were noticeable, reminding her of some of the boys she had known back in Phoenix. Bella increased her pace very slightly when she thought of the disgusting things those boys had bragged about doing.

A few whistled at her as they passed, and laughed when she blushed and turned her face away. Turning the corner, Bella felt just a little bit better, seeing that she had been right about the direction. The distance she had seemed to travel, however, made her slight anxiety come back. It was at least ten blocks before she could turn into the flow of people and traffic heading back into downtown. And each of those blocks had her walking between warehouses.

Trying to calm her breathing, Bella continued walking, hoping for time to speed up, so she could just find Angela and Jessica again. But she knew she just needed to get there and then she would be fine. Everything would be fine.

A slight scraping noise caused her to look over her shoulder, and Bella's heart almost stopped. Two of the men from the group were walking a good fifty feet behind her, keeping pace with her. Tearing her eyes to look in front again, Bella picked up her pace once again. She still had a good five blocks before anyone would even _see_ her and she didn't think she could yell loud enough for anyone to hear over the noise of traffic.

Discrete glances over her shoulder showed the two men not getting any closer but also not getting any farther, no matter how much she sped up. They were definitely following her. The only question was whether they would gain their nerve before she reached the point where someone could help her, or if she would find herself safe.

As Bella reached the next intersection, her question was answered for her. The two behind her already had the nerve. She just hadn't known it.

She wasn't running from them. They were herding her.

The three remaining men from the group walked around the corner that was still a good fifty feet in front of her. Bella's heart was pounding in her throat. She knew that she didn't care about whether she lived or died, and would in fact welcome death, but there was a big difference between dying and what these men most likely had in mind. The latter was not something she remained indifferent to.

Looking both ways on the street, Bella quickly crossed to the other side, hoping the men would see her as too stubborn or difficult of a target. Her hope was squashed as the men crossed too, in front of her. Bella slowed her pace slightly, hoping to delay the encounter, but she could hear the two behind her picking up their speed to catch up with her.

The panic began to rise in her but she remained calm. She knew the pepper spray her mother had insisted she carried with her in Phoenix was still back there in her old house, giving her no help. A year previously Bella had taken self defense. She knew basic moves to either disarm or distract an attacker, but that was one, and this was five. Five men that probably have at least fifty pounds and six inches on her – each. The only thing she knew that might help her would be the weakest points: the groin, the throat, and the heel of her hand thrust upwards into their nose.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Bella put on a scowl, hoping it would make her look menacing and maybe even intimidating. Not what they would want in a target.

"Don't look like that honey." One of the men in front of her said. He was less than ten feet ahead, but Bella did not hesitate, she moved to the outside of the sidewalk, away from the men, in hopes they would maybe just let her pass.

Hands clenched at her sides, Bella answered with as much venom as she could put in her voice. "Leave me be." She glared at him and he seemed to falter slightly before a large, confident grin crossed his face.

"We can make you feel better girly, don't worry about that." She seriously doubted anything that he wanted to do would make _anyone_ feel better but ignored his insinuation. Bella rolled her eyes slightly, keeping the scowl on her face, and hoped that the man would get the message that she was, in fact, not at _all_ interested and was possibly dangerous. Instead, her eye roll seemed to aggravate him.

The man lunged at her with a slight snarl. Surprised, Bella only stepped partly out of the way. He grabbed her right shoulder with his left hand. Bella had to step partly into the street when she dodged him and heard a car coming from behind her.

"You're not going anywhere darling." The man practically growled at her.

Using all of the force she could muster, Bella thrust her right hand forward and upward, right into his nose. She felt and heard a sickening crunch from the impact – she had broken his nose – and used the shock of his pain to spin out of his hold and farther into the street.

Bella's eyes widened slightly when she was turned all the way around, the car she had heard was _a lot _closer than she had thought. The driver slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel so the passenger-side door was right in front of her. The door popped open and a voice growled from the darkness, "Get in."

Although she would never willingly admit it, Bella would recognize that voice anywhere. She hopped into the car without a second look back at the group of men and it sped off, tires squealing. The inside of the car was dark with dusk having just fallen, so Bella could only see the outline of Edward Cullen.

His hands were gripped tightly on the steering wheel, and his posture was rigid. It was obvious he was upset, but about what she didn't know. Edward never reacted as Bella would expect him too, that might have been what fascinated her about him.

It was only three or four minutes before they were once again pulled over, this time out of town alongside a patch of forest. Observing her surroundings, Bella mused that Edward must have driven much faster than the law allowed.

"Edward?" Bella was becoming slightly nervous over many things: that she was alone in a car with Edward Cullen, that he appeared upset, that he wasn't talking, what had just happened, etc. He glanced at her briefly before turning back forward, lying his head against his headrest and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Distract me." His voice was rough and full of command, but Bella wasn't quite sure what the command was.

"What?" Her voice came out as a squeak. Suddenly, Bella wondered whether being saved by Edward Cullen would result in the same sort of thing as if she had been left back with those disgusting men.

He didn't look back at her, but sighed. "Distract me. Talk about something, anything. I have a problem with my temper. Please. Distract me."

Bella let out a sigh of relief, finally understanding what he wanted her to do and the reason behind it. Grasping for something, she settled on the first thing to sour her evening. "I'm going to run over Tyler Crowley tomorrow at school."

Edward's eyes opened momentarily to look at her serious expression. "Why?"

"Because he's either insane or severely confused. He's, apparently, been telling people that I'm going to prom with him. I think _maybe_, in some way, he's still trying to make up for almost squishing me with his van, and if I run him over, then possibly it'll be like we're even, and he'll stop. Plus, if he is insane, he wouldn't be able to take me if his car was once again totaled…or he was severely injured…" Bella's voice was thoughtful as she gave serious consideration to hurting Tyler in some way to make him leave her alone. He was just as insistent and stubborn as Mike but much more forward.

Edward's lips were twitching slightly, obviously trying to fight off a smile or laughter. "Yes, I heard about that."

"_What?_ Okay, broken neck it is." Bella clenched her jaw as she pursed her lips in distaste. Edward sighed, not completely calmed down, but he turned towards her.

"Are you alright Bella?"

She stopped her furious planning to look over at him, surprised. "Yeah. Why?"

Edward sighed again, exacerbated. "You were almost attacked Bella. Some would say you were. And you're okay?" He was having a hard time believing her and Edward's frustration level seemed to be increasing again.

Bella looked at him levelly, understanding what he was saying. "Oh. Yeah, I guess you'd be worried about that. I'm pretty good at repressing the bad things." Bella said grimly, her eyes darkening, while she thought about her mother's death. She quickly put an end to that line of thought, turning back to Edward. "Thank you for coming. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't." Bella smiled openly, genuinely grateful.

Edward forgot all of his anger and frustration in that smile. He looked at her dumbly for a few seconds, unable to speak, before shaking his head to clear it. "You're welcome. I'm just glad I got there in time." He added the last part quietly, almost to himself.

Though Bella was thankful for Edward's help and was enjoying having him not trying to annoy her to death, she noticed the hour and knew the girls she had come with would be worried for her. "Hey, um. I really appreciate what you did, but I think I should get back to Angela and Jessica. They'll probably be wondering what happened to me." She smiled tentatively, hoping he would agree to take her back.

"Right," was all he said before turning the car back on and heading into town. It wasn't even five minutes later that they reached the front of the Italian restaurant Jessica had mentioned.

"How'd you…never mind." Bella gave up her question, knowing that asking would do her no good.

Just as she reached for the handle on the door, Edward pulled it open from the outside. Blinking at him, a little surprised, Bella exited the vehicle and looked at her companion.

"What are you doing?"

Edward was caught off guard by her question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you doing? I thought you were just going to drop me off. Where are you going?" Bella's gratitude seemed to have dried up into her polite but cold demeanor.

He had a blink a few times in order to steady himself after the abrupt change of mood before he answered with a smile. "I'm taking you to dinner."

Bella's eyebrows rose and she looked at him as though he had three heads. Shaking her head, she decided to remain diplomatic. "I was going to dinner with Angela and Jessica. You'll have to ask them whether you can join or not, sorry."

Edward just smiled wider at her response, but it quickly turned into a frown. Following his gaze, Bella looked and saw Jessica and Angela walking in the opposite direction of the car. It was possible they were looking for Bella, so she called out to them.

"Angela! Jessica!" They whipped around, relief pronounced on their faces that they had not lost Chief Swan's daughter. The relief immediately turned into shock as they took in the gorgeous figure that was standing beside her.

Jessica spoke first, unable to contain her curiosity. "What happened Bella? We were supposed to meet like an hour ago!"

Bella smiled a little stiffly, reminding herself that they were just worried, and it would do no good to tell Jessica her directions to a book store were sloppy and that the "bookstore" she had directed her to was a joke. Instead she answered sweetly, "I'm sorry! I got a little lost, but then Edward found me." She pointed another sweet smile his direction which successfully confused and stunned him. "He brought me back because I couldn't find my way."

Angela's face was full of understanding, but Jessica's held suspicion. Well, it did until Edward stepped in.

"I was wondering if you ladies would mind me joining you for dinner?" Edward smiled that breathtaking crooked smile he had and by the girls' speechless reactions, Bella could tell they had yet to fall prey to his charms.

"Uh…yeah…if you want." Jessica blinked rapidly, presumably to clear her mind of the fog it had just filled with.

Angela was a bit more composed. Apparently not having an interest in the vampire helped prevent a person from being 'dazzled'. "Actually, we already ate Bella. I'm sorry, we just figured you would be along soon and ordered, then you weren't there by the time we had finished, so we decided to go out looking." She truly looked sorry and Bella felt that she would have genuinely been good friends with that girl, had she not been expecting death any time soon.

"Oh." Was all Bella got out before Edward cut her off.

"Well, if that's the case, I wouldn't mind driving Bella home. That way you two don't have to wait while she's eating." He smiled again, trying to be as convincing as possible.

Both girls looked to Bella as if asking her confirmation that it was alright. She glanced at Edward before shrugging slightly. Honestly, Bella didn't care _who_ she ate with, coming to Port Angeles had just been a distraction from the thoughts that were beginning to become overwhelming. The fact that a small part of her was leaping for joy at the prospect of spending time with Edward, Bella dutifully ignored.

Angela seemed to catch the hint first and spoke up before Jessica could. "Alright then. I guess we'll see you two tomorrow at school. Have a good night Bella…Edward." As soon as she was done talking and the two girls were headed back to their car, the pleasant expression on Edward's face fell. He once again looked like he wanted very badly to hurt something or someone. And Bella knew exactly who those _someones_ were.

"So you don't feel the need to put up a show for me?" Bella asked as they headed to the door of the restaurant.

Edward's eyes tightened slightly before answering. "I feel like I can be myself around you…somewhat." Bella had to smirk at the idea that he couldn't fully be himself, but he at least tried.

...

**A/N:** I know, I know. Weird place to end, but if I continued on to their dinner (which will be posted VERY SOON) then it would go on for double the length. I really enjoyed having Bella actually fight back a bit with the guys, hope you did too!


	23. Confirmations and Confessions

**A/N:** Okay...so I was wrong about the whole double length thing. Orginially this chapter and the last one were merged...but then I looked at the length and THIS one is ALREADY double the length of the last one...lol.

Also. A couple people have been saying I should deviate from the book more...don't worry, that's coming. I just needed to have this whole scene thing in here because it's a HUGE breakthru for Bella and Edward in speaking and understanding one another. We all love Edward, right? RIGHT!

Enough of me talking...READ ON!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-three: Confirmations and Confessions**

As they entered the restaurant, Bella did not fail to notice that the host was female, and was giving Edward a little _too_ much attention while she acted like Bella wasn't there. "Table for two?" She purred at him, obviously trying to sound alluring. Bella forced her face to remain straight while she resisted the urge to laugh at the ridiculous sounding host.

Edward continued to look at Bella, studying her features when he answered. "Yes, something private please." Bella immediately looked back at him, a little flustered at his apparent forwardness. _Oh well_, she thought. She had only agreed to dinner so she could question him about what she knew.

Bella _knew_ Edward was a vampire. It just fit. What she didn't know was what all of that entailed, and she had noticed many things, all of which she wanted to confirm and clarify. So, following his lead, Bella walked over to the booth that was quite separated from the rest of the restaurant crowd and sat down.

He kept studying Bella, even as the host let them know she would be getting their server. Feeling slightly annoyed and self-conscious, Bella finally snapped. "What? Why are you _staring_?"

Blinking and slightly confused, Edward answered. "Sorry, I'm just wondering what's wrong with you."

Bella's eyebrows burrowed and then shot up. "Wrong with me? How so?"

"I'm sorry, that sounded wrong. I just meant that any normal person would be going into shock, but you appear fine. Maybe a little paler than normal, but otherwise, fine."

Understanding struck her. Edward was waiting for Bella to go into hysterics. Sighing, Bella looked at him levelly. "I already told you, I'm good at handling unfortunate circumstances. Don't worry about it. Wait, paler? How much paler can I get from my normal skin tone?" Bella had always joked to others that she was part albino. In Washington it wasn't such a big deal, but when she had been in Phoenix, she had stood out like white on black.

Still feeling skeptical, Edward pushed the breadsticks toward her. "I'd still feel better if you ate and drank something."

Shrugging, Bella picked up a breadstick and nibbled on the end. Looking at her closely, Edward realized just how skinny Bella was. She never appeared to eat much at school lunches and she looked it. He didn't remember her being quite as thin on her first day, but he couldn't be completely sure.

The waitress, having already delivered their drinks and appetizers came back to get their orders. Bella ordered the first thing she saw, not particularly interested in the food, but noticed that waitress was doing more ogling of Edward than writing down. She had to clear his throat once before the poor woman snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry, and can I get you anything?" She asked Edward. Bella couldn't help but notice the slight stress the waitress had put on the 'anything' and was sure he hadn't missed it either.

"No, thank you." His eyes never left studying Bella as Edward answered.

Bella shivered from the chill of the cokes and, though she didn't want to admit it, the intensity of his stare. The movement did not go unnoticed and Edward's brow creased.

"Don't you have a jacket?" It wasn't until he asked that Bella realized she had left it in Jessica's car.

Pursing her lips slightly she answered, "no. I forgot to grab it before Jess and Angela left."

It was Edward's turn to purse his lips. Sighing, he shook the jacket he was wearing off and handed it to Bella. She raised her eyebrows slightly before taking the article of clothing. Slipping it on, Bella noticed how cold it was. There was no heat to let you know it had just been worn by someone else, in fact, it felt like it had been put in the refrigerator. _Cold ones indeed,_ Bella thought seriously.

Edward was still scrutinizing her in quiet concentration. Sighing loudly Bella looked directly into his eyes – they were a warm honey color.

"What?" Bella was feeling a bit exacerbated at his excessive attention.

Looking surprised once again, Edward opened his mouth. "I'm just waiting for _something_ to happen. It's just not _normal_ for you to be so okay with this."

Bella sighed again, feeling slightly perturbed at being called abnormal, even if it was not directly. "I thought we already established that I'm just not normal." She conceded, remembering his comment about what a _normal_ human should be able to smell. Mumbling slightly, Bella continued. "Besides, I feel oddly safe with you." It was true, Bella knew that Edward would never intentionally hurt her and he _had_ protected her, more than once.

Frustrated, Edward frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was fascinated with Bella much more than he should be and, although he hadn't admitted it to anyone – not even his family, except Jasper – he thought he might be in love with the girl. Edward just hoped that she could accept him for what he was.

"I didn't realize you would be in such a bad mood." Bella was curious, she had theories about his moods and wanted to confirm them.

"What?" She had, once again, caught him off guard.

"You're eyes. Usually when you're this crabby they're black. But they're not, so I figured you'd be in a better mood. Oh well." She sighed wistfully, leaving Edward stunned once again.

Recovering his speech, Edward finally responded. "And why would you think that?"

He was obviously trying to cover up _something_ but Bella was all for learning the truth. "Just my observations. There's a lot that's different about you. I think I know how it ties together."

Bella popped some Ziti into her mouth while she let Edward mull over what she had said and the implications behind it. "You're very perceptive, you know that?"

"Mm…" Was all Bella could say around her pasta.

"Would you mind telling me what you think 'ties it together'?"

"Sure, why not. I just don't think we should do it here." Bella smiled innocently at him. "How about we talk about some other stuff first before we get into that. Maybe that can be for the ride home?"

Frustrated once again that he could not read her thoughts, Edward just nodded in acceptance. She was right, a restaurant really _wasn't_ the best place to talk about what he was.

"Alright then. So, what brings you to Port Angeles?" Bella was relatively curious how Edward had just happened to be there at the right time and place to save her. About how he found her, she had her theories.

He hesitated before answering. Edward was unsure whether he should tell her the truth, but since he was planning on laying it all out there, he figured _why not_. "I was following you."

That had not exactly been the answer Bella had been expecting and was thankful she had a mouth full of pasta so she could prolong her time to think up a response. _Great. Now I have __**two**__ fanged stalkers._ But suddenly Bella realized that she really didn't _mind_ that he had followed her.

"Hm…any particular reason why?"

"I've been trying to keep you safe. Only you would be able to attract the attention of those…" He paused, clenching his jaw. "You would have ruined the crime rates in this town."

"Ah…I see." _Right. Keep me safe when I have a nutbag sadistic vampire who seems bent on torturing me in some way or another. Safe. Ha._ Bella smiled but managed to keep the peels of laughter inside.

The waitress was back with the check in her hand.

"Would you like anything else?" She still hadn't stopped trying to be sexy for Edward, though he didn't even look at her.

"Well, I'm ready to go." Bella said, having finished her fill of pasta. Edward looks at her dubiously, not liking the small amount of food she ate, but not willing to argue over it. He hadn't eaten in over 80 years and couldn't really say what would be the proper amount for a human of her size to eat.

Edward already had a bill in hand when the waitress made to hand him the check. He told her to keep the change as he helped Bella out of the booth. They didn't talk on their way to the car, but Edward did look at her.

Especially then, outside, Edward could see that Bella looked more relaxed. Not quite more vulnerable, but her face had softened slightly from the mask of indifference she wore. He liked it.

Bella was feeling more and more comfortable with Edward. She had no feeling of being watched from afar, meaning her stalker friend was not present, and so she had no fears of being seen relaxed. As they entered the car, Edward turned to her.

"We're in the car." He pointed out, obviously wanting to continue the discussion of what she knew. Bella couldn't help but smile at his eagerness.

"Yes. We are. You should get it moving." Bella's smiled widened as Edward turned back to the front and pulled out of his parking space, grumbling the entire time.

Bella decided the best way to say what she wanted was to lay it all out there at once. "So, all vampires can't read minds like you do, right?" She was pretty sure about that, but, like everything else she thought she knew, Bella wanted to confirm it.

Edward nearly crashed the car at her statement. He was so taken aback at what she knew that he wondered briefly if someone had told her. Blinking as he turned toward her, Edward answered honestly. "No. I've never met anyone else who could. How…when…what…How do you _know _that?"

Edward's flustered state amused her. "I'm just very observant I guess. Not to mention you're not the only vampire I've ever met." She didn't want to give too many details, but had a feeling that Edward could either sense or smell that another vampire had been around her.

His eyes hardened slightly at the thought of the other vampire but Edward was curious. Would Bella tell him who the vampire was and what they meant to her? Did he even want to know? Curiosity overrode apprehension.

"I've noticed. Who are they anyways?"

Bella ignored his question, not wanting to get into the details over _that_ matter. "You guys aren't as inconspicuous as you probably think. I can tell you _a lot_ of things I've noticed."

Edward did not fail to notice her ignoring his question but let it sit for then. "Oh? Do tell." He was slightly worried about what she might have picked up, but needed to hear it from her.

"Well, none of you ever eat; you all look like the last time you slept was a good hundred years ago; you're pale as death; you don't show up on sunny days; you're eyes change color more than any iris should without the help of color contacts; you're all inhumanly beautiful, as well as inhumanly graceful; and the whole dazzling people thing. Oh, and there's the whole super-speed and super-strength." She added the last observation making it sound almost like an unimportant last minute thought.

Edward stared at Bella for several long seconds, realizing just how perceptive she was. But another idea struck him. "But then how did you know I could read minds?"

"That was observation too." Bella was feeling even more relaxed the longer she spoke. Even the fact that Edward seemed to be driving well over double the speed limit did not change her attitude. "You just seem to know what others are thinking. Well, everyone besides me that is. You react that people for no reason sometimes, or at least it appears to be no reason to everyone else, but I would guess it's the person's thoughts."

Bella was _very_ observant. Too much so for her own good. Edward looked at her again, having a new sense of awe for her lack of normalcy. "Why do you think I can't hear what you're thinking?" He didn't want to lay _everything_ out on the table, but couldn't help but notice she had already done that for him. Well, not _quite_ everything.

"You don't know what I'm thinking. I can tell that." Bella said a little darkly.

"How so?" Edward was immensely curious. Why would she think that?

"Let's just say, if you could know what I'm thinking, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to stay quiet about your opinions."

Bella's answer only tweaked Edward's curiosity further. "Really? What sorts of things?"

Smiling at him, Bella shook her head. "No, you don't get to know _everything_ about me. Sorry."

Edward knew that dazzling Bella into answering him was not an option – because it wouldn't work – so he accepted temporary defeat. He hoped, however, that eventually he would be able to know whatever Bella was thinking.

"So how does it work?" Bella's question brought Edward out his hopes for the future.

"Sorry?"

"The whole mind reading thing. I mean, I know you can't read mine, but can you read everyone else's mind? Is there a range to it? Or do you just hear everyone all the time, everywhere?"

Edward couldn't help but laugh slightly. "No, I can't read everyone everywhere. You are the first person that I haven't been able to 'hear'. And there is a range, but it's not definite. The more I 'hear' someone, the more I'm used to their 'voice', and the farther away I can 'hear' them."

"Hm…So is that how you knew I was going to be in Port Angeles, and then where to find me?"

A small growl formed in Edward's chest at the thought of what she meant by 'where to find her'. "Yes. In a way. I had to look at what was going on in Jessica's mind. I didn't realize that you were separating from them until you were already gone. I wasn't paying enough attention. Then I went to the bookstore that I had seen in Jessica's mind, but you hadn't gone in there either. I was turning frantic when I heard what _they_ were thinking." Bella didn't have to ask who he was talking about when she saw his grip tighten on the steering wheel and his eyes darken.

"I saw a picture of you in their mind. And what they planned…" Edward broke off as yet another growl threatened to sound.

"Mm…I see. _Thank you_ again for that." Bella smiled stunningly at Edward and once again all of his anger was forgotten. Briefly, he wondered whether what she was doing was what he did to other humans when he 'dazzled' them.

"You told me you knew we were vampires. That you had your observations. But did you just see us and go 'oh, they're vampires!' or was there something else? I mean why not think nymphs or ghosts or anything else? Why vampires?"

Bella thought about what Jacob Black had told her about the treaty and decided to only tell Edward as little as possible. "Well, you know how I went to the 'beach' with Mike and Jess and some other people?" Edward's face turned curious and confused, not knowing where she was going with that. "I ran into an old family friend while we were there. He lives on the Reservation and I think he was trying to impress me. He told me a Quileute legend. It was about how they were descendents of wolves. That they still were brothers of wolves and that years ago there was a pack of men that could truly join their brothers. They were werewolves, men that could change into wolves. He also told me that werewolves only have one enemy and one purpose. They protect their tribe and town from 'the cold ones', vampires, blood drinkers."

"And you immediately thought of us? You heard the word vampires and thought 'oh, so _that's_ what the Cullens are'?"

Bella laughed lightly before her expression turned dark. "No. I didn't think of _you_ first." The image of James biting into her mother's neck flashed before her eyes before Bella could stop it. Forcing calmness onto herself, Bella smoothed her face and continued. "But you see, it fits."

"Yes, I see." Suddenly Edward wondered what Bella had been through. If she hadn't thought of the Cullen's first when she heard the term vampires, then who had she thought of? Was it the other vampire he knew was around her? If it was then why would she have asked him, rather than that vampire? So many thoughts whirled around in Edward's head.

"So I obviously don't know everything about a vampire. What can you tell me?" Bella asked curiously.

"You don't know everything about us?" Edward asked, slightly confused.

"No. Of course not. Why would I?" Bella was equally confused by his question but understood all too quickly.

"Well, it's just…my family and I thought that maybe you were associated with another vampire. And if you were, that they would have told you already."

She knew exactly what they were talking about. They knew about her stalker friend even if they didn't know that he meant to kill her. "Oh," was all she could manage.

"So why not? Why wouldn't the vampire you know tell you? Who are they anyways?"

Bella repressed the urge to scoff. Instead she smiled slightly, trying to remain light hearted and playful. "Nuh uh. I asked you first. Besides, you don't get to know _all_ my secrets."

Edward sighed, reigning in his curiosity. "Well, what would you like to know?"

"The whole sun thing? Do you dry up and shrivel or burst into flames?"

Edward laughed heartily at that. "That's just Hollywood spoof. The sun does us not harm, but we still can't go out in it."

Bella felt slightly confused, it doesn't hurt them but they can't be seen in it? "Why?"

"Let's just say you could tell we weren't human."

"Hm…" A thousand different possibilities lined their way up in Bella's head. She pushed it all back to think about later. "Holy water, churches, crucifixes, coffins?"

"Myths. We actually can't sleep."

"At all?" Bella was appalled at the idea. How would anyone stay sane if they couldn't slip into unconsciousness?

"No." Edward knew exactly what she was thinking, even without reading her mind.

"Oh. Immortality?"

"True, but we still can die." Edward felt slightly reluctant to get into this portion of the subject.

"What? If you're immortal then you're not supposed to die. How's that possible?"

"We are immortal, if no one interferes. But we can still be killed."

"Oh? How?" Bella was genuinely curious to know how a super-fast super-strong moving piece of rock could die.

"Fire. That one Hollywood had right. The only way to get rid of a vampire is to burn them to ashes."

"Well. That must be difficult, considering they could just stop drop and roll." Bella felt slightly stupid for saying it but the idea stuck out in her head.

Edward laughed again, it was a musical sound and Bella liked it more than she thought she should. "Yes, I guess you would say that. You usually rip them to pieces so they can't fight back. _Then_ you burn the pieces."

Bella blinked a little rapidly to clear her mind of the image. "But if you rip them to pieces, won't they be done anyways?" She didn't think that even an immortal person could deal with that.

"We can put ourselves back together." Bella's eyebrows shot up, imagining the idea of regeneration. Edward continued. "Unless you burn the pieces, they could be put back together. We're dead in all technical sense of the word, so even if an appendage is ripped off, it would still work. It's just not connected to the body's brain anymore."

Bella felt slightly nauseous at the idea. She looked at the trees that were going past at an entirely too fast speed.

"You haven't asked the most important question." Bella looked back at Edward, slightly confused.

"What's that?"

"My diet." Edward was nervous that they were finally getting to the part where she thought he was a monster. He was terrified she would run away screaming and never come back, but he had to know.

"Oh. Yeah. You drink blood. But not human. I knew that." Edward was momentarily stunned before he could speak again.

"How?" Was all he managed to get out. His mind was reeling in happiness that she had yet to run away from him, even though she seemed to already know. But how did she know?

"You're eyes. They're golden instead of red. Human drinkers are red." Bella looked away as she said that, hoping he couldn't notice that pain as she said 'human drinkers'. She had seen her mother drained by a vampire with flaming red eyes; it was enough to drive any girl slightly crazy.

"I see." Edward did see. He wasn't entirely sure, but suddenly he felt that the vampire that had been around Bella was not as nice and sweet as he had first thought. That it was possible she knew about eye colors because that vampire drank from humans. Edward shivered at the thought that such a dangerous monster was anywhere near Bella. "You're right. We drink from the blood of animals."

Her next question surprised Edward enough to bring him out of his brooding. "Why? Why drink from animals? I mean, isn't it kind of you _nature_ to prey on humans? Why make the effort not to?"

"I don't _want_ to be a monster. I drink blood and that makes me a monster, but I refuse to also take a human life. I want to keep my humanity at least."

"Can't you just take _some_ blood after you knock a person out and they wouldn't be any the wiser while you would not be killing them?" Edward blinked at Bella, surprised at the idea, but then again she didn't know about the venom.

"No. We can't do that. We have a kind of venom Bella. When we bite, it goes into the wound and causing vast amounts of pain. It's what starts the changing process."

"Changing process?" Edward kicked himself internally, this was the _last_ thing he wanted to be talking about with Bella. He could never imagine damning such a sweet angel to his existence as a monster.

"Yes. To change into a vampire."

"Oh." Edward was glad that Bella had stopped asking about the process. Bella was glad she knew now what it took to change into a vampire. She never wanted to. Bella could not imagine the pain of having to exist _forever_ in guilt, alone.

Bella decided that changing the topic back to something a little lighter might be wise. Edward was brooding in the driver's seat. "So were you hunting over the weekend?"

He looked at her, momentarily surprised. "Yes. I didn't really want to leave, but it was needed."

Bella was confused. "Why wouldn't you want to leave?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Edward answered quietly. "It makes me…anxious to be away from you. You're a magnet for trouble. I mean look at your wrist! I was gone for a few days and come back to see you've broken your wrist."

She laughed a little darkly. Edward was right when he said Bella was a magnet for trouble. But the most important thing stuck in her head. Edward had been anxious to be away from her. It made Bella feel special, wanted, warm. But also sad. Bella knew she wouldn't be in the world long, or at least she hoped she wouldn't, and that meant she couldn't make any ties. She couldn't start a romance that she could never finish. Besides, what would she do if her stalker friend decided to hurt her by going after someone she cared about? Bella didn't think she could survive losing someone else.

The conversation was brought to an abrupt end when Bella realized they were parked in front of her house. She turned towards Edward, giving him another warm smile.

"Thank you again. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Edward smiled back, feeling his chest swell in emotion. "Yes. Sleep well. Oh, Bella?"

She turned back, eyebrows slightly raised. "Yeah?"

"Can you…try not to go into the woods alone?"

Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Why?"

"Let's just say, I'm not always the scariest thing out there." Edward didn't want to tell her exactly what he meant, but hoped she would understand. To his surprise he heard her mutter something that sounded very much like "Don't I know it." But then she was smiling again.

Bella removed Edward's coat, hopped out of the car and, without a glance back, walked through her front door.

Five minutes after she was in the house the phone rang. It was Jessica.

"What happened?!" She demanded. Obviously, Jessica was not about to let this little piece of gossip out of her grasp.

"I'll tell you tomorrow Jess. Can you bring my coat with you, I forgot it in your car."

Jessica grasped what must be. "Your father's there?" Bella looked up towards the living room, seeing her dad sitting on the coach watching the game.

"Yeah. So I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?" Bella didn't really care about talking in front of her father, but didn't know what to tell Jessica yet.

"Alright. You _will_ tell me everything." Jessica was as bossy as ever.

"See you Jess."

...

**A/N:** For those going "WTF?! Where's James?!" He's in the mountains...wondering why the hell he feels so disgusted with hurting Bella...so yeah...he's back next chapter...:)


	24. Surprises

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-four: Surprises**

James had been gone for two days. He had stayed in the mountains, hiding and thinking. Never before had he felt anything remotely similar to the emotions he was feeling now, and he didn't known what to do with it. He had been _fond_ of Victoria, but that was nothing compared to what he was now prepared to admit he felt for the human girl. _Bella._

Crawling through her window, James immediately knew something was wrong. It smelt different in her room. Vampire.

Blinking back the fear and rage, James stepped forward into the room. Bella was asleep on her bed, lying peacefully. The scent was coming from both her and the clothes on the top of her hamper pile. Jealousy coursed through him.

She had been with the other vampire. He didn't know what for, but he knew _who._ It was _him_. The one who kept chasing after his Bella. And now the young one had caught her.

Rage filled him as James launched himself onto the bed. He landed with his hands and feet on either side of Bella. The heavy impact woke her with a start. James looked into those pools of brown and felt his anger fade away. He could not be angry with her, even if that other vampire had tricked her into something. She was only human.

James caressed her cheek lightly, not wanting to hurt her, but wanting her to feel it. Her eyes widened infinitesimally. Settling himself on the edge of her bed, James decided he wanted to try something. He wanted to show her that he loved her in the only way he knew how.

-x-

Bella was shocked. After weeks of annoyances and what others would call torture, he decided on this.

James sat on the edge of Bella's bed, holding her wrists together, lightly enough not to hurt them – especially the broken one – but secure enough that it felt like manacles. She had thought he had decided on different ways to physically torture her, and she had been right, but not in the way she had expected.

Fear filled Bella, momentarily, as his lips crashed onto hers. What scared her most was that this did not appear to have been done just to cause her distress. No, it almost appeared as though her stalker _wanted_ this, wanted _her_.

Before it had a chance to settle, Bella's fear changed to fury. After weeks and weeks of thinking she was going to die, she was going to get her release, it looked like her waiting had been for nothing. After weeks of seemingly wanting to _kill_ her, it now appeared that James _wanted_ her instead. What a horrible change.

Knowing she couldn't possibly escape his hold, Bella did the only thing she could. She didn't react. Laying there like a corpse, Bella neither fought against nor moved with his frantically moving lips. This was her first kiss, so she had nothing to compare it with, but Bella imagined that if she had actually wanted it, it would have been amazing.

James did not give up when she stopped resisting. In fact, he moved his free hand to her waist, caressing her side. It took all Bella's self control to not yell out in frustration over the fact that she did _not_ want this, and that his hand felt so good rubbing her side.

Eventually he stopped. James lifted his head back slightly to look into her eyes. Bella made sure to have her face completely blank, completely indifferent. She didn't know what it was that he actually wanted. Resistance could be just what he needed to keep moving, same with acceptance. So she stayed in the middle, not caring.

That seemed to do the trick. Her stalker friend removed his hand from her waist as he sat up. He looked down at her, looking from her head all the way down to her feet and back. If there ever was a time Bella had the urge to blush and hide herself as of recent, it was then, but she resisted.

Bella looked at him levelly when his eyes made their way back up to her face. What she didn't like was that his gaze seemed to linger on her lips that were now probably red and swollen from the urgency of his kiss. When James' eyes finally met hers he let out a sigh.

"What am I going to do with you?" He seemed to be asking himself more than her, but Bella answered anyways.

"I thought you were supposed to be killing me." As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

James blanched at her words. Obviously the idea was no longer something he wanted. Bella felt her world start to spin at the realization. She had been quiet about a stalker that had been harassing her, in more than one way, for the couple months, thinking he would kill her. That she would be able to escape the world where, as of recent, she seemed to only feel pain and sadness, but now it looked like the person – or monster, rather – that would make that escape possible, would not.

When the room stopped spinning the floodgates opened. Tears streamed down her face as Bella tried to pull her hands free from his grip. James seemed so surprised at her reaction that he let them go. Curling into a small ball, Bella mourned for her loss.

Unsure of what to do, or what had brought this on, James' hands fluttered over Bella's side. She no longer faced him and he had never been in this sort of situation. He wanted to comfort her, to understand what he had done wrong and fix it, but he didn't even know how to find out what it was he had done.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Please, stop crying." Saying her name aloud sent a thrill through him that almost overpowered the feeling of helplessness, but not quite.

She didn't respond to his questions and only cried harder. Bella didn't know how or when the reason for him stalking her had changed, but it had, and she knew he would no longer kill her. She also knew that with him and Edward Cullen around it was almost an impossibility to even have an accident. They would save her.

The tears she had been holding in since arriving flowed. She had kept her grief inside because she had believed she wouldn't be in this world for much longer. That mourning with the only time she had left would be pointless. But now she had no escape, now she would have to live on with the pain until something finally happened to end it.

James settled to doing the one thing he had seen other humans do for each other when one was upset. He rubbed her back. Letting his human instincts take over, James rubbed soothing circles across her back, hoping she would stop this crying that made his non-beating heart ache.

He had never cared for anyone in his three hundred year existence. Victoria was a distraction he had kept around for her usefulness and her willingness to do almost anything he asked. But now he cared for this human deeply, probably even loved her.

He had never thought a vampire in love was actually possible. All those vampires that called one another their 'mates' he had always believed were deluded into thinking their bit of affection for one another was love. Now he knew he was the one that had been deluded. Never before had James felt such a strong pull to protect this human girl, to love her and touch her.

Shifting from his position on the edge of her bed, James scooted towards her. He wanted to touch more than just her back, but he also did not want to upset her further. Settling his back against the headboard, James scooped Bella into his arms, cradling her gently, as he continued to rub her back.

Bella did not move from her tight ball but continued to cry endlessly. The light circles her stalker friend was rubbing on her back were somewhat comforting, but the pain was too extreme to be soothed. Just as Bella was letting the eager arms of unconsciousness take hold, a crashing noise brought her back to fully alert.

James' grip on Bella tightened as he saw the form in the window. He had not even thought of the possibility of this complication. That just proved how preoccupied he had been in figuring out his own feelings for this fragile human in his arms.

Bella popped her head out of her ball in order to see the cause of commotion. She thought, at first, that maybe James had taken his frustration out on another piece of furniture in her room, but she had been wrong. Relief flooded her face as she took in the menacing and furious face of the vampire crouched below her window. Maybe James wasn't the only one willing to give her, her escape.

Victoria growled low. She couldn't believe the sight in front of her or what she had seen earlier.

-x-

After growing impatient that James' hunt had taken longer than a month, Victoria had set out to find him. Snooping around the home they had murdered Bella's mother and step-father in had revealed the address of her father's house.

On a whim, Victoria had gone there, expecting to find James holed up somewhere, celebrating his kill. Instead she found the human girl still alive, and her James _comforting_ her. What had happened before was even worse. Victoria had watched from a distance as James entered the girl's window. She figured that he was doing it now, finishing his game, that she had just come a little early.

When she didn't hear any sounds of struggle or smell any fresh blood, Victoria became curious. Climbing the tree that stood outside Bella's window, Victoria witnessed something she never thought she would see. James, _her_ James was kissing the human girl. It appeared the girl was doing nothing in return, lying completely limp, even though Victoria knew the kiss he was giving the girl would have made _her_ weak in the knees. Victoria quickly dismissed any deep meaning from his actions. She had known this girl had been different, strange you might say, so maybe her James was doing this because it was the only way to get the girl to react.

Transferring her anger from James to the girl, Victoria watched as James pulled away, a look of frustration on his face. The girl remained impassive, and a surge of hate towards the human that would keep her James away from her for so long surged through Victoria.

It wasn't until she heard them speak that James took on her hate. He was frustrated, asking himself what to do with the human girl. Victoria knew that James liked his prey to be good and terrified before he killed them, and obviously he had not figured out quite how to do that with this girl. The girl's response surprised her, she _wanted_ death. That's why she was unafraid.

If the girl's reaction surprised her, James' reaction rendered her speechless and immobile. The speed and intensity of his apparent dislike for the girl's statement told Victoria it was truth. Her James did not want to kill this girl anymore.

The anger and indignation rose in Victoria to new levels. James was comforting the girl, _comforting_. He had _never_ done anything remotely similar to her. The look he was giving the girl was also one Victoria had never witnessed. She had always thought James' slightly cold demeanor was just the type of vampire he was. That he was unable to show affection and love.

She had been wrong. So wrong.

James had never showed her affection because he had never felt it. The truth of their relationship came rushing to Victoria as she watched her James. He cared for this human girl, and deeply. He would never return to Victoria, not unless the girl was no longer in the picture. Even then he probably never would.

Victoria turned to leave in defeat. The love she felt for James had transformed into hate. It was true what they said: there _was_ a thin line between love and hate.

As Victoria took one last look at the vampire she had once believed to be the love of her existence her plans changed. He had hurt her, more than he would ever know. But she could hurt him too.

The human girl _wanted_ death. Victoria saw _that_. But James seemed oblivious. If Victoria were to kill the human girl then she would be doing her a favor as well as hurting James, just as he had hurt her. Yes. That would be the perfect decision. Even if James killed her after she killed the human girl, at least she wouldn't have to live the lonely life again.

Having made her decision, Victoria launched herself through the window, landing just below the sill. James seemed honestly shocked at her arrival, he had apparently been too busy thinking about his human to noticed her presence. They stayed in their positions for several long minutes. The human's face popped up to look at Victoria, showing open relief. When Victoria's glare transferred to the girl, James' face hardened. He loved her, truly loved her.

The thought made Victoria sick. She let out a deep growl, letting James know her intentions. As James slowly put the human girl down, Victoria struck out, lightening fast. She caught the girl in the back, but had to pull back before being able to hit completely. The human let out a squeak as a load crack filled the air and her body went limp. Victoria had broken her back.

James roared in fury as he launched himself at Victoria, intending to kill. But she was too quick. She was out the window and into the forest before he could catch up. He chased after her, not even thinking about the reason he had kept her around, the thing she was going to use to her advantage.

Victoria had a knack for escapes. She seemed to be able to sense danger and know which way to go. It made evading James easier than he had thought possible. After a few minutes of chasing her winding trail at full speed, it doubled back. He realized his mistake too late.

Panic shot through James as he hurtled his way back to the Swan's residence. He could only hope that he would not be too late to save Bella but he didn't even know how that was possible now. Victoria had broken her back, possibly other things as well, Bella would never be able to walk again. She would never be the same. His fury increased his speed and he reached the inside of Bella's room in time to see Victoria, with her teeth in his newly found love's neck.

...

**A/N:** Is everybody with me on the whole "wow" thing? 'Cause I wrote this and was just like "dude..." anyway. It's sort of a cliffy, I'm sorry. Edward's in the next chapter for all those that are going "YO! WE WANT EDWARD!" Hope you enjoyed!


	25. Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-five: Hope**

Victoria reached the house before James even realized his error. Bella's father was in the room, fluttering over his unconscious daughter, not knowing what had happened or what the roar had been. It had sounded like a mother Bear after one of her cubs had been taken. It was a crazy sound to be heard in a house.

When Victoria entered the window Chief Swan looked up, wide-eyed. The window was on the second floor and no one should have been able to easily get to it without the help of a ladder. Before he could even open his mouth, Victoria crossed the room and snapped his neck. He was dead before she sunk her teeth into his neck, enjoying the warmth and sweetness of his blood.

Dropping the corpse, Victoria turned her attention back onto Bella. The human was still unconscious, but it was obvious she was injured. Her body lay at such an odd angle. Victoria felt momentarily sorry for this girl. She knew it wasn't the girl's fault that James had never loved her and, therefore, decided she did not need to prolong the girl's torture.

Victoria bit into the girl's throat and venom immediately pushed its way into the wound. The blood was sweeter than any Victoria had tasted and she finally understood why James had originally wanted to use the girl in his game.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Victoria was ripped from the girl's lifeless body. She looked up into the strangely orange eyes of her ex-lover, before he tore her head from her body.

James finished dismembering Victoria's body and turned back to Bella. Although she remained unconscious, she was twitching in pain. The venom from Victoria was burning through her veins and slowly changing her into one of them.

Suddenly, James saw hope. He had not thought of this way to save her. He had not even thought of it as a future option. To have Bella as a vampire, to be able to live with her forever was an idea that made his heart swell. Scooping her up carefully, James hopped out her window and laid Bella on the soft grass.

Knowing he needed to get rid of the evidence, James entered the Swan's shed. He found a spare jug of gasoline and sped back to the house. Bella had regained consciousness, her eyes wide with pain, but she did not make any noises.

After emptying the 5 gallon tub throughout the house, he set it on fire. The house that had been Charlie Swan's home for almost twenty years went up in flame ridiculously fast. Bella was screaming by the time he had returned to her side. He wasn't sure whether it was the shock of her house being burnt down or if it was the pain setting in, but James knew he needed to get her away before the neighbors came to investigate.

James carried his broken love into the forest. She still could not use her limbs to thrash because of her broken back, but the shrieking did not stop.

Eventually they reached a clearing, miles away from anyone. James knew no one would be able to hear her or find her, so he set out to hunt. Seeing her in such pain hurt James, and the smell of her blood was getting to him.

Now that the idea had come to him, he wanted Bella to be with him for eternity more than anything else. That meant he could not kill her during her change.

-x-

Edward left Bella's house feeling on top of the world. He had admitted his existence to the girl he loved and she had accepted him for who he was. He knew from Jasper that she cared for him, even if she didn't show it. But tonight he was able to see some of her mask falling away. He was able to see _Bella._

Alice was dancing around him as soon as he walked through the door, chanting in her head.

_She knew, she knew, she knew. She knows! And she doesn't care! Oh Edward, I'm so happy! I can see you together!_

Alice continued to bounce as the rest of the family came into view. Edward wasn't quite sure how to explain that the human girl he had been telling them about knew of their existence. He decided quicker was better, seeing as they were all already berating him with questions in their minds.

"She knows." A mostly collective gasp went through the group before Rosalie turned on him.

"She knows? _She knows?!_ What do you mean she knows?! You told her?! How could you, you selfish idiotic –"

Edward cut her off before she could get her rhythm going. "No Rosalie. I didn't tell her. She knew. She put it together and figured it out."

"What do you mean, 'put it together'?" Carlisle asked, worried about his family.

"She's very observant, she saw the differences we have from humans, the eye color changes, the missing days, the lack of food, and all our other vampire attributes. She knows another vampire as well, so I think that helped her believe her idea too."

"Well if it was just an idea then what do you mean she knows? You could just deny the whole thing, call her crazy." Rosalie, of course, refused to accept the idea that a human would hold knowledge about their existence.

"Rose, she noticed more than just that. She knew about me reading minds." Another collective gasp was taken. "She's very smart and we already know she's associated with another vampire. She won't tell anyone, she didn't when I saved her from that van and who would believe her if she did anyways?" Edward tried to remain convincing without getting into details just how much he cared for the girl and how much he _wanted_ her to know.

"I don't care! She's human! She shouldn't know!"

"Well she does Rosalie. It's too late to do anything about that." Edward growled quite loudly to punctuate his point when Rosalie's thoughts drifted to different ways they _could_ 'fix it'. "I need to go hunting, would any of you care to join?" The car ride with Bella had taken its toll on Edward's thirst and if he wanted to _not_ eat Bella Swan the next day, then he needed to hunt.

Rosalie's new point of useless argument was shut down by a look from Carlisle. His thoughts were warm and trusting.

_If you think we can trust her Edward, we will. Just be careful._

Alice and Jasper offered to go hunting with him. Edward's thirst was starting to affect Jasper and Alice just wanted to bug him on the way there and back through her thoughts. She was already begging him to take Bella to the house so they could all get to know her.

-x-

Edward Cullen drove in his silver Volvo towards the Swan's residence. He spent most of the night hunting in order to do this and hoped it would work for the better.

Edward planned to pick Bella up in the morning, just as any other boy in love would.

What waited for him was not something he had expected. As Edward got closer to the house he noticed that there were many more thoughts than normal in the area. Listening closely, he could tell that they were emergency crews, salvaging the ruins of a burned house. He sympathized with the people who lost their home.

Then a name stuck out, making him drive even faster. _Chief Swan._ Pulling around the last corner, Edward felt his heart squeeze in fear. Where the beautiful home of Isabella Swan stood yesterday, was a pile of ash and timber. Edward drove past, taking in all he could with his vampire senses, before heading to the hospital. He needed to talk to Carlisle and find out if either Bella or her father were admitted to the hospital.

Once there, Edward raced slightly faster than he should have to his father's office. Carlisle was there, just getting ready to leave and check on a patient when Edward barged in.

"Edward. What's wrong?" Carlisle was immediately concerned. He knew his son had been planning on picking up the girl they all hoped might show him love this morning and was afraid something had gone wrong.

"It's Bella." Carlisle's heart sunk, fearing the worst. "Her house was burned down when I went to pick her up. I don't know where she is. Can you see if she's here?"

Immediately going into professional mode, Carlisle assured Edward that he would check and see. Ten minutes later it was confirmed that neither Bella nor Charlie were at the hospital. The panic Edward had been holding in threatened to consume him. Only two possibilities existed if Bella was not in the hospital, that she was staying at a family friends, or that she was…dead.

Carlisle insisted Edward go to school like normal. There was no need to arouse any unneeded suspicion. Besides, he could get Alice to look into the girl's immediate future and maybe discover where she was.

Edward held onto that little bit of hope with a death grip. He drove to the school like normal, carefully keeping his face neutral and bored, although he was anything but that inside.

He was planning to race to Alice's classroom and ask her to join him outside so he could ask her what it was he really wanted her to do. But before he could even get inside the building of her classroom, Alice was there knowing what it was he wanted for her to do.

The walked quickly to one of the picnic benches outside to sit down so Alice could concentrate. Jasper was right behind them, throwing questions at Edward through his mind, demanding why both he and Alice were so panicked. Edward ignored him.

After a few moments of flickering images that Edward could not really see in Alice's mind, her face reanimated with a gasp. She looked at Edward, pained, apologizing in her thoughts.

"I don't know where she is Edward. But she's changing. All I can see is woods, and another vampire with her." Alice conjured up the image she had seen in her mind for Edward to see himself.

_Bella was lying on the ground in the middle of a small clearing. She thrashed and screamed, obviously in enormous amounts of pain._

_The male vampire next to her watched with a torn expression. It looked as though her pain caused him pain. _

Edward's panic increased as well as his fury and jealousy. The vampire looked as Edward might have if he were in that situation, as though he loved Bella.

Was it possible that this was the vampire that had been around Bella? Was it possible that she had _wanted_ this change? And that the house burning down was done in order to cover up her mysterious disappearance?

But what then of her father? Edward couldn't believe it was possible for Bella to sacrifice and kill her father just so she could escape. She wasn't that kind of person. Edward refused to believe it.

An overwhelming sense of hopelessness filled Edward as he walked through his day. At lunch, Angela Weber spoke with him, wondering about whether he knew where Bella was. He assured her that he didn't and was sorry that couldn't help her.

By the time Edward was home, he was in a daze. He didn't know what to believe. The one person he actually believed he could love and would love him back – even if he was a demon and she was a perfect angel – was gone, changing into a monster just like he was. Why she was changing he did not know. Whether it was something she wanted or something that was forced upon her, he did not know.

Edward shut himself in his room. The music he put on did nothing to ease his swirling thoughts, it only helped to keep the rest of his family away.

He stayed like that, trapped in the circle of questions that he could not answer, for two and a half days. He refused to go to school or even acknowledge those that came into his room to either gloat or console.

Edward couldn't even bring himself to tell Rosalie to shut up when she had come into his room, ranting about how it was better this way, that now Bella would either die or no longer be human and they didn't have to worry anymore. Emmett finally dragged her out of the room, telling her that their brother did not need that.

On the day he expected Bella to complete her change, Alice barged into his room. Her eyes and thoughts were both panicked. Edward immediately sat up, demanding to know what she had seen, what was the matter.

But Alice couldn't speak. She was so worried, so desperate, that all she could do was show Edward what she had _seen_. He paused long enough to give her a horrified look and then took off.

Alice immediately collapsed to the ground, worry and horror overriding her ability to move or speak. It was a distinct possibility that in a short amount of time, she would loose her closest brother.

...

**A/N:** I know...another cliffie...but it just felt so RIGHT so end it here. :) I hope everyone liked the explanation as to "where the hell Charlie was" and my reason for not having him in the story much (I knew he was gonna' die, and I didn't want it to be a HUGE impact...yeah...). ANYWAY...I hope I haven't disappointed.


	26. Revenge

**A/N:** It's a little shorter than I've been doing lately...sorry. This chapter was hard for me to write, I'm sorry if it's a little awkward.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter Twenty-six: Revenge**

Bella was lost to the world.

She didn't know anything but pain.

The fire consumed her body. It prevented her from conscious movement, from talking, even from thinking. The only coherent thing she could think was that she was in hell.

Her inability to save her mother and then her wishes for death had brought her to hell. How ironic that Bella wished to die in order to escape the pain only to be pushed into a greater pain. If there was a God, he must have a sense of humor.

She didn't know how long she stayed that way, completely consumed by the unimaginable all encompassing pain. It could have been days, months, or years. Time meant nothing in that kind of suffering.

The events over the past few months began to come back to her as the pain ebbed away. She remembered her hopelessness, realizing that James no longer wished to kill her. But then there was that woman. Her hair was fiery red and her expression was pure rage.

That woman had been Bella's last hope. She remembered a blow to her back, and then darkness. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the grass outside her house that was ablaze.

She had screamed.

Not for the pain. That was already there, but Bella was more concerned for her father. James had obviously taken her to safety, but what of her father? What of Charlie who was surely still asleep in his bed. The house caught so fast she knew there was no way he had made it out. James had killed her father.

Sorrow and rage filled her as James picked her up. She realized that moving was impossible – probably due to the blow that the red-haired woman had dealt her – so, instead, she screamed.

Screaming was easy. It was therapeutic. It allowed Bella to release the horrible tension in her body. It helped her to distract herself from the pain – both physical and emotional.

It also hurt _him_.

While he was running with her, Bella couldn't help but feel some sort of perverse satisfaction at the pain etched on James' face. Every time she screamed, he would cringe, as though he was suffering the same sort of pain.

There was only a very short amount of time Bella was able to bask in the success of hurting him. Then everything was pain.

-x-

James returned from hunting as quickly as he could. There was a small chance that Bella would somehow attract the attention of another predator during her change, be it a vampire, werewolf, or a non-mythical predator. Though James was also a threat to her, he refused to believe he would hurt her. After hunting and because her scent was already becoming less appealing, James hoped he would be able to sit with her.

With each scream the beautiful creature he had fallen in love with produced, James felt like his heart was being torn. He remembered his change. The pain was unbearable. James could only hope that Bella would be strong enough to live through it.

-x-

Just as quickly as the pain had started, it stopped. Bella was curled in a tight ball, clutching her chest. The burning had settled around her heart until it finally stopped beating. Now it was gone.

Bella took a deep, shaky breath. She was confused. She had thought that the burning fire that had consumed her was hell. That she had been condemned to suffer eternally, but now everything was calm.

There was no pain.

In fact, Bella felt better than she ever had. More powerful, more sure. Another deep breath brought with it many different scents. She was in the forest – she knew that from the overwhelming scents of various evergreens. There were also many sweet scents that she associated with the rustling in bushes and thumping of feet. She was smelling the animals.

A horrible thought occurred to her as Bella clutched herself tighter. There was no heartbeat underneath her palm, yet she was breathing. With a sudden illogical sureness, Bella realized she _had_ died. Just not the way she had hoped for.

She had been changed.

With that realization, Bella sat up. She opened her eyes and looked at who she knew would be sitting next to her: _James_. He had a relieved and anticipatory expression on his face.

James was waiting for Bella to do something, say something, _anything_. Instead, she just sat there, looking at him.

Bella was a vampire. The one thing she never would have wished for. She had been hoping for death in order to escape her sorrow, but now she could see that this was so much worse. What was one human lifetime compared to eternity?

An eternity alone.

Rage replaced the sense of hopelessness. As Bella stared at James, she could feel it filling her.

It was _his_ fault. _He_ had done this to her. A low growl was forming in her chest, releasing some of that which she was feeling. Bella wanted to hurt him. To destroy him completely.

She had lived with his slow torture for months, not caring, but this was it. This was something he could never make up for. Even if he wanted her, she did not want him.

Bella leapt to her feet in a movement too fast for even James to follow. A snarl ripped through her, stunning him thoroughly.

He had expected confusion, sadness, possibly even some anger. But this was different, this was outright and pure fury.

James stood slowly, not wanting to frighten her away. He may be older than her, but he had enough experience with newborns to realize that Bella would most likely be faster and most definitely be stronger. He put his hands up as well in an 'I mean no harm' gesture, and started crooning at her softly in hopes she would calm down.

"Bella, it's alright. You're fine now. You don't have to be scared, I saved you. Now we can be together." He smiled at the last part, lost in his own little fantasy. James hadn't even thought about the possibility that Bella would not wish to remain with him.

An inhuman snarl brought him out of his own thoughts. Bella looked very menacing with her eyes coal black, face twisted in rage, and feline posture. It was both frightening and erotic.

James took a slow step towards her, not wishing to scare her, but wanting to get closer. As soon as he twitched, however, Bella was on top of him, pinning him to the ground. The eroticism of the situation for James increased as Bella straddled him.

She was furious. Not thinking about how her movements could be interpreted as something else. Instead she was concentrating on remembering the conversation she had with Edward. He had told her how to kill a vampire. She knew that, she remembered him and who he was, but the specific details were fading.

Fire. That was important. She needed to burn him so he couldn't regenerate. But how to hold him while she found something to produce fire? The rest of Edward's explanation came back to her: tear him to pieces.

James misinterpreted the evil glint in Bella's eyes. He tried to push up on the hold she had him in, but it was solid. Both of his wrists were being held down by one of her hands and she had locked her ankles around both of his knees. He couldn't move. At all.

It was not a position James was used to. He was normally in control. Victoria had followed his every whim and command, happy to do anything for him. But not Bella. She had taken complete control of the situation and James could not help but find it arousing. She was his goddess.

Bella put her hand on James' cheek in an almost intimate gesture. He closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation of her touching him. Her hand slid down to rest at the back of his neck as her face moved so she was almost kissing the side of his neck.

She hesitated, unsure if she could actually do what she planned. Bella's breath fanned on James' neck, causing a lovely sensation. He couldn't help but moan.

It was that moan that made up her mind. The rage came back, wiping out any guilt or hesitation she held before. She strengthened her hold on his neck and in one swift motion bit down hard and ripped it from the rest of his body.

A slightly surprised expression was on James' face as Bella ripped the rest of his body apart. His clothes smelled faintly of gasoline from when he had poured it around in her house. This only motivated her further.

Bella was never more thankful at that moment that her mother had forced her into girl scouts when she was a child. There was no need for a lighter.

-x-

Edward raced through the forest until he was just outside where Bella's house had once been. Alice's vision had not shown the exact location, but Edward knew that he could follow Bella's scent to wherever she was. He hadn't really thought of it before he knew she was in danger, but it seemed obvious to him now. He needed to find Bella, and quickly.

He wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but Alice's vision popped back into his head.

_Bella stood staring at a small fire. Heavy smoke was coming off of it as she watched with deep concentration. Her face was filled with both sorrow and disgust._

_She was even more beautiful than before, each curve and muscle more defined. Her once deep brown eyes were now a shockingly vivid red. _

_Something seemed to move in the woods in front of her, causing her to look up. Bella's nose wrinkled slightly and her eyes turned black. _

_Then there was nothing, Bella's future had disappeared. _

Edward wasn't sure what could cause Bella's future to disappear, but he knew he needed to stop it. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Edward knew that he couldn't live without her anymore. Even if Bella did not see him in the same light he saw her, just being around her would be enough.

Though he never wanted it for her, Bella was now a vampire. She would live forever. If it was at all possible, Edward hoped that she would spend her existence with him.

But that could only happen if he reached her in time.

...

**A/N:** Yep...that's right. I'm sorry to all those who were out there screaming "It should be James and Bella!" but that's just unrealistic in my story. Bella was falling in love with Edward, she felt nothing good towards James and then he did something unforgivable. Of course she'd be pissed. Hope ya'll don't hate me. :)


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